The Benefits of Regional Conferences in Promoting Scholarship Keynote Address for Southern Criminal Justice Association

Abstract

This manuscript was presented as the keynote address of the Southern Criminal Justice Association annual conference. The keynote addressed several concepts argued to promote successful scholarship in criminal justice and criminology; specifically networking and mentoring. Further, the keynote details the benefit of participation in regional conferences for both academics and students. Finally, it challenges academics and students of all ranks to continue to participate and support regional conferences.

COVID-19 and Academia: Considering the Future of Academic Conferencing

“…These are often friendships that do not necessarily correspond to workplace or academic upbringing. This notion of elected tribes is within the realm of professional purpose because social networking and professional collaboration are often vital for increasing research productivity (Moak, 2010), which has professional importance.…”

“…Potential employers and employees are met at conferences (Alarid, 2016). Conferences enable job candidates to impress (and sometimes not impress) prospective hiring committees, and enable researchers to meet with journal editors interested in special issues or manuscript reviewers (Moak, 2010). When a presentation is especially well received or questions remain unanswered, it is not uncommon for interested audience members to continue discussing the research topic with a presenter in the hallway or exhibit hall after a presentation (Vito, 1999, p. 2).…”

“…They enable scholars to observe and benefit from the experiences of peers. Mentorship may be considered in the context of professional development, social networking, or both, but it is also of value and likely facilitated by conference attendance (Moak, 2010). Professional development workshops often cover a plethora of subjects, such as teaching to a culturally diverse student body, effective teaching of statistics to criminal justice undergraduate students, partnership building with criminal justice agencies, and so forth.…”

“…We assert that there are many lessons that cannot easily be learned in a classroom that may instead be learned through a conference or through social settings with more experienced academics. Such lessons include ways to deescalate verbal disputes during presentations or learning about other individuals' reputations as either a hindrance or advantage for collaborative work (Moak, 2010).…”