Dear President Pinto:

As doctoral alumni, we were shocked to learn that Dean Lisa Huffman, with the apparent approval of your administration, has terminated the contract of Dr. Francis T. Cullen as a Senior Research Associate within CECH; he remains a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus.

To be direct, Dean Huffman has chosen to “fire” Dr. Cullen after 42 years of incredible service to the University of Cincinnati.  This decision appears to be based on an appalling lack of knowledge about Dr. Cullen and his contributions. We are calling on you to investigate this decision and to reverse it, restoring Dr. Cullen to his position as a Senior Research Associate.

If you choose not to do so, as UC alumni, we will request that you arrange a town hall meeting with us on zoom for two purposes: (1) to learn first-hand why Dr. Cullen is loved and valued by the program’s alumni, and (2) to try to explain why UC, a Research I institution, would inexplicably fire an iconic scholar.

As a new Dean with no knowledge of the field of criminal justice, Dean Huffman apparently is unaware of Dr. Cullen’s scholarly achievements. You have personally congratulated Dr. Cullen for his many accomplishments, including his 2022 Stockholm Prize in Criminology, our discipline’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. His record is incredible—more than 500 publications and nearly 80,000 citations. He has won virtually every award available within our discipline and been president of the American Society of Criminology.

Dean Huffman also appears to be ignorant that Dr. Cullen came to UC in 1982 joining five other faculty in the School. For four decades he worked tirelessly to build the School of Criminal Justice into the #4 program in the nation. Dean Huffman seems unaware that firing Dr. Cullen will certainly cause that ranking to fall precipitously.  This will make our degrees worth less.

Finally and most important, Dr. Huffman did not consult any program alumni (or current students) to appreciate that Dr. Cullen brings three qualities to his courses: unparalleled scholarly expertise, incredible teaching effectiveness, and inordinate caring and investment in every student. As alumni, we nominated him successfully for the 2018 American Society of Criminology Mentor Award.

When students leave Dr. Cullen’s classes, he gives us a “lifetime mentoring contract.”  This is his promise to give mentoring advice to any student who requests it for the remainder of their career.  Many of us have taken advantage of his wisdom and had successful careers as a result.  

We admire and value Dr. Cullen.  It is not too much to say that many of us “love” him for the knowledge he has given us and his willingness to invest in us as students and personally. We recognize that all faculty eventually leave the program.  But for UC to remove Dr. Cullen purposefully and prematurely is inexcusable. We sincerely request that you reverse this egregious decision.