The Michael F. Serafino Award for "Best Student Paper"

The Michael F. Serafino Award for "Best Student Paper" is open to papers submitted by all students seeking a bachelors, masters, or doctoral degree.  Presentations are judged on the quality of the student's scholarship, contribution to the fields of criminal justice and psychology, and the value of the overall presentation to the Society's annual conference. Students eligible for this $250.00 honorarium with certificate must present it in person at the conference.  For more information about this award please contact Gerry Serafino (P.O. Box 1137, Roswell, NM  88202-1137).

The award commemorates Michael F. Serafino who was a graduate student in criminal justice studies at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the time of his death in July of 1992.  At that time, Michael had been preparing a paper for presentation to the Society's 1992 annual conference.  Because of his death, this paper was never made.

In 1994, the Society members voted to establish the Michael F. Serafino "Best Student Paper" Award in honor of Michael.  Michael's parents, Dr. Gerry and Anne Serafino of Roswell, New Mexico, agreed to chair the awards committee.  The winners of the Michael F. Serafino "Best Student Paper" Awards  have been as follows:

1995. Gina Leong for her paper:  "Using the Forced Choice Methodology in Determining Deception."  This award was presented to Gina by Jack Annon, Ph.D., 1995 Society President, in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Gina's paper was written in collaboration with Drs. McClain, Jamison, and Hall with A. Runyon and J. Yum, of the University of Hawaii.

1996. Stacey Nelson, in collaboration with Dr. Steven Rubin, for her paper:   "Parental Attachment and Different Levels of  Juvenile Delinquency."   This paper was published in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology (Volume 12, No. 2).  Stacey Nelson and Stephen Rubin are from Whitman College in Walla, Walla, Washington.  Stacey was presented with this award by Jerry Serafino, Ph.D., 1996 President of the Society.

1997. Jim Ruiz of Westfield State College in Westfield, Massachusetts was awarded the "Best Student Paper" certificate  for his paper:  "Regulation of Sexually-Oriented Businesses:  The Texas Experience."  Dr. Eva Buzawa, 1997 Society President, presented the award to Jim Ruiz in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1998.  Rebecca Jackson and Brian Viola won the award for their paper entitled:  "The Use of Implicit Memory Tests in the  Detection of Guilty Knowledge."  This paper was co-authored with Theron E. Parsons, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin in Platteville, Wisconsin.  They were presented with this award by David Corey, Ph.D., 1998 Society President, in Portland, Oregon.

1999. Jennifer Trager of James Madison University won the award for her paper entitled "The Effectiveness of Psychological Profiles." This paper was co-authored with JoAnne Brewster, Ph.D., also of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The award was presented by Drs. Aumiller & Goldfarb, Society Co-Presidents in Port Jefferson, New York.

2000.  Erica Weber of Whitman College won the undergraduate award for her paper on "Determinants of Violence in Washington State Penitentiary."  Laura Daniel of Castleton State College won the graduate award for her paper on "Examination of Pre/Post MMPI-2 Scores of Incarcerated Offenders Who Have Participated in a Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program."   The awards were presented by Society Co-Presidents, Drs. Clint Voelm and JoAnne Brewster in Canton Ohio.

2001.  The winner for 2001 was Elizabeth Turner, a student of Dr. Steve Rubin, for her paper "Once a sex offender always a sex offender: Myth or reality?"  The award was presented by Society President Steven Dietz in Austin, Texas..

2002.  The winner for 2002 was Christine Lerch, a student of Mike Aamodt, for her paper "Is physical evidence or eyewitness testimony more persuasive in the courtroom?"  The award was presented by Society President Jim Herndon in Orlando, Florida.

2003.  The winner for 2003 was Emily DeCoster, a student of Bill Weiss, for her paper "Compulsive Traits and Police Officer Performance."  The award was presented by Society President Wayman Mullins in Corpus Christi, Texas.

2004.  The winners for 2004 were Steven Riddell and Maila Venturi.  These awards were presented by Society President Gary Aumiller in Rome, Italy..

2005.  The winner for 2005 was Sarah Bloomfield, from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, for her paper "False memory Effect in Offender Profiling."  Her major professor is Craig Bennell. The award was presented by Society President  Susan Cave in Scottsdale Arizona..

2006.  The winners for 2006 were Adam Hess, April Alexander and Mayrin Calcano.  Adam Hess presented "Eyewitness and Visual Allocation in Crime Scene Evaluation" with co-authors Matthew Sharps, Kristin Wagner and Marcel Garcia of California State University, Fresno.  April Alexander & Mayrin Calcano presented "A review of Neonatacide Cases in the United States" (Radford University, Michael Aamodt, Advisor).  These awards were presented by Society President James Turner in Chevy Chase, Maryland. 

2007.  The winners for 2007 were Shevaun Corey who with advisor Craig Bennell of Carleton University presented "Geographic Profiling of Terrorist Attacks," and Adam Hess who with advisor Matthew Sharps and Marcel Garcia, Joy Ewart, Melissa Griffith and Sina Tuy of California State University, Fresno presented "Visual Allocation in Simple and Complex Crime Scenes."  These awards were presented by Society President Michael Surrette in Springfield, Massachusetts.