PHILADELPHIA -– John MacDonald of the University of Pennsylvania has won the Association of Public Policy and Management’s David N. Kershaw Award. MacDonald is an associate professor of criminology in the School of Arts and Sciences.

The Kershaw Award was established to honor individuals younger than 40 who have made significant contributions to the field of public-policy analysis and management.  It is considered one of the highest honors in recognition of work related to public policy and social science.  In November, MacDonald will give a speech about his work at the APPAM Fall Research Conference in Baltimore.

MacDonald is chair of the Criminology Department and director of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at Penn.  He also serves on the Academic Policy Committee in Penn’s Fels Institute of Government and is a faculty member in the Population Studies Center of SAS.

"John MacDonald's research is addressing some of our nation's most pressing social issues,” SAS Dean Rebecca Bushnell said.  “This award is a well-deserved recognition of his important work and a great honor for the School as well."

MacDonald is the recipient of multiple grants for his research on interpersonal violence, race and ethnic disparities in criminal justice and the effectiveness of social-policy responses to crime.  He is the author of numerous articles featured in publications such as the American Journal of Epidemiology, Criminology, the American Journal of Public Health, the Economic Journal and the Journal of the American Statistical Association. He was named Young Experimental Scholar by the Academy of Experimental Criminology in 2009.