Hartwick Hosts Hardy Chair Lecture on Countering Terrorism

The Hartwick College Sociology Department will host the 2017 Hardy Chair Lecture, to be delivered by University of Maryland Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice Dr. Gary LaFree. His presentation, titled Countering Terrorism: No Simple Solutions, will be held Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m. in the Anderson Center for the Arts Theatre on the College campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

LaFree is a sociologist and director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence headquartered at the University of Maryland. His research has been funded by the Carnegie Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Justice, and the Guggenheim Foundation, among others.

He is a frequent lecturer, and the author, co-author, and co-editor of numerous books and articles including: “Applying Criminal Justice Theories to Terrorism: New Applications and Approaches” (Routledge, 2015); “Putting Terrorism into Context: Insights from the Global Terrorism Database” (Routledge, 2015); “The Changing Nature of Crime in America” (National Institute of Justice, 2000); “Losing Legitimacy: Street Crime and the Decline of Institutions in America” (Westview Press, 1999); and “Rape and Criminal Justice: The Social Construction of Sexual Assault” (Wadsworth Publishing, 1989).

He is also a member of the Attorney General’s Science Advisory Board, and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Law and Justice.

LaFree’s most recent book, “Countering Terrorism: No Simple Solutions” (Brookings Institution Press, 2017), will be available for purchase after his talk.

“Many analysts and policy makers argue for a deterrence or punishment approach to terrorism. LaFree’s research empirically demonstrates that in contexts like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the Intifada, conciliatory policies (which raise the benefits of abstaining from terrorism) may be more effective in reducing terrorism,” said Professor of Sociology Dr. Katherine (Kate) O’Donnell. “From domestic, supremacist, right-wing violence to international terrorist threats, Dr. LaFree has important insights for us.”

For more information on LaFree, visit www.start.umd.edu/people/gary-lafree.

For more information on the Hardy Chair Lecture, contact O’Donnell at o_donnellk@hartwick.edu or 607-431-4894.