UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 1, Page 3
August 31, 1995
At Convocation; Sociology professor receives Francis Alison Award

     I am convinced that for most of us our scholarly work is relevant
for a very short period of time. If we can remain a footnote, we're
doing well. We live on through our students... that's how we pass on
our legacy."
     Such is the philosophy of Frank R. Scarpitti of Newark, professor
of sociology and former chairperson of the department, who received
the University's prestigious Francis Alison Award Aug. 28 during
Convocation on the University's Mall.
     The $6,000 Alison Award was established by the University's Board
of Trustees in 1978 and first presented in 1979 to recognize the
scholarship, professional achievements and dedication of the faculty.
     Scarpitti is a criminologist whose eclectic research has ranged
from mental illness to juvenile delinquency to illegal disposal of
hazardous waste.
     His research has had practical implications for several
groups-from the families of schizophrenics to those fighting illegal
landfills.
     Although much of his research has been groundbreaking, he says
the area of his career in which he has been most effective is "working
with graduate students, giving them professional advice or showing
them the best way to get published."
     Even during his 16 years as department chairperson, Scarpitti
always taught and worked closely with graduate students. Additionally,
his undergraduate classes in  social problems and criminology have
attracted large numbers of students.
     "With the graduate students, I have always seen one of my roles
to be that of fostering their careers," he said. Toward that end he
has co-authored papers and books with at least a dozen students.
     "It provides an opportunity for them to learn some of the
techniques and helps them accomplish what they must do when they get
their first job," he said. "If I can introduce them to editors and
help launch their careers, it's very rewarding. It's what two of my
graduate teachers did for me, and how can you thank someone for
something like that? Simply by doing it yourself for others."
     In his three terms as chairperson of the Department of Sociology,
Scarpitti has seen many changes. He has seen a department of eight
grow to include 26 full time-faculty. He has seen a doctoral program
launched in 1969 graduate many successful doctoral students, all
gainfully employed.
     And in the area of research he has experienced much success. His
10 published books and more than 50 articles and chapters address a
variety of issues related to social problems and criminal behavior.
     Early in his career, Scarpitti was one of the researchers in a
landmark study on the value of treating mentally ill patients in a
community rather than in an institution.
     The study, conducted in early sixties at the Psychiatric
Institute and Hospital at Ohio State University, became the backbone
of a movement to deinstitutionalize certain types of mentally ill
patients and became the model for many community mental health reforms
throughout the country.
     The book that grew out of that research, Schizophrenics in the
Community:  An Experimental Study in the Prevention of Hospitalization
with Simon Sinitz and Benjamin Pasamanick, won the American
Psychiatric Association Hofheimer Prize for Research in 1967.
     While working as an assistant professor of sociology at Rutgers
University from 1963-1967, Scarpitti turned his research focus to
juvenile delinquency. He studied the effectiveness of the then-
innovative idea of guided group interaction as a way of changing the
behavior of juvenile delinquents. His study found the approach
reasonably effective in curtailing repeated delinquent behavior.
     In the early 1980s, his research into the illegal disposal of
toxic waste resulted in the controversial book, Poisoning for Profit,
about the role of organized crime in the trash disposal business.
     The book traced the role of organized crime in the traditional
garbage business and its ventures into the relatively new business of
toxic waste disposal.
     The book became an important source book and guide for grassroots
groups and law enforcement agencies fighting toxic waste issues across
the country.
     Currently, Scarpitti works with the Center for Drug and Alcohol
Studies, looking at the effectiveness of therapeutic drug treatments,
trying to analyze why the process is effective and the type of person
for whom it works best.
     Scarpitti says he is honored, gratified and a little embarrassed
to be given the Alison Award.
     "This is an award from my peers, the people who know me best, and
it's really quite rewarding. But I keep seeing people on campus and
thinking 'Gee, he or she should have, gotten this award,'" Scarpitti
said. "It's very humbling."
     Scarpitti came to the University in 1967, making what he says was
"the right move for the wrong reason-a higher salary."
     Since then, although he has had many offers to go elsewhere, he
has stayed out of a sense of contentment with the University and the
surrounding community.
     In his spare time, Scarpitti is an aficionado of Grade B Western
movies, lecturing on the genre and attending an occasional film
festival that allows him to see as many as 19 movies in only a few
days.
     He is a native of Butler, Pa., earned his bachelor's degree from
Cleveland State University in 1958 and both his master's and doctoral
degrees in sociology from Ohio State in 1959 and 1962, respectively.
     Other honors he has gathered over the course of his career
include being elected president of the American Society of Criminology
in 1981, and the Environmental Justice Award from the Citizens
Clearing House for Hazardous Wastes in 1989.
     Widely published on his numerous research topics, he is a
frequent speaker at professional meetings and a sought-after
consultant.
                                                          -Beth Thomas