Dr. Karen McElrath has been selected as the Dudley E. Flood Endowed Professor of Criminal Justice at Fayetteville State University (FSU). The announcement was made on May 6, 2014 by Dr. David Barlow, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Dr. Miriam DeLone, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice.
McElrath received a Bachelor of Science in Police Administration and a Master of Science in Justice Administration degrees from the University of Louisville. She received a Doctorate in Criminology from Florida State University. Prior to her appointment, McElrath served as a Professor of Criminal Justice at FSU. Before coming to FSU, she was a reader in the School of Sociology, Social Policy, and Social Work at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. From 1991-96, she was a tenured associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Miami. From 1989-91, she was an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Duquesne University.
The chair is named in honor of Flood, a retired educator and a former member of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. Flood began his career as a teacher of mathematics, sciences, and English at the eighth grade level and was promoted to principal of a school covering grades 1-12 before joining the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) as a specialist in school desegregation and race relations. During his 21 years of service to DPI, he earned promotions to Assistant and then Associate State Superintendent. After his retirement in December 31, 1990, he served for over five years as Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators. Since April 1999, he has served as a lecturer and consultant to groups throughout the country.
“Dr. Flood has had a major impact on education and the way that it is delivered,” McElrath said. “He firmly believes that social inequalities can affect students’ self-worth and in turn, their learning. I am very honored and appreciative of this professorship and the person for whom it is named.”
Flood has received more than 300 awards for civic service. He has been presented the Order of the Longleaf Pine Award (North Carolina’s highest civic award) three different times from Governors James G. Martin, James B. Hunt, Jr., and Mike Easley.