Orange County Register picks professor for its annual listing
Brandon Golob, associate dean of UC Irvine's Campuswide Honors Collegium and associate professor of teaching in criminology, law and society, has been named one of Orange County’s 125 Most Influential people of 2024 by The Orange County Register.
“I’m humbled and honored to be included alongside inspiring individuals committed to positively impacting our county and beyond,” Golob says. “Their meaningful work continually motivates me and many of them, both on the 2024 list and in years prior, have ties to our unparalleled university – Zot! Zot! Zot!”
What the newspaper wrote about the School of Social Ecology’s popular professor:
Golob has been voted professor of the year at the UCI School of Social Ecology four years in a row. Undergraduates and graduate students have chosen him. Golob teaches about criminology, democracy and the rule of law, challenging his students — among whom are mid-career law enforcement professionals — to think about those matters in practical terms. Golob also leads his courses with empathy, having his students agree upon ground rules for sensitive political conversations at the beginning of each term. And he breaks up serious conversations with lighthearted chats about music and pop culture.”
Students love Golob and have lavished praise on him for his teaching prowess in their nominations for the school’s Professor of the Year award. He’s won each year for the past four years. The following are a couple of examples of the student nominations:
- “Professor Golob is incredibly passionate about the topics he discusses. He makes the material fun by relating topics back to current pop culture and media references. His material is very integrative and educational, while also being fun and intriguing to learn about. He does an amazing job at fostering a very inclusive and open environment by making students feel comfortable and safe asking for help which I really appreciate.”
- “His teaching style is unmatched and he does an excellent job engaging students with interesting group work activities. Essay prompts really reflect what the purpose of the class is and really help students demonstrate and showcase their understanding of course material.”
In a helpful column he wrote in October for The Criminologist, Golob offered tips for incorporating podcasts when teaching criminology courses dealing with justice issues. Among his tips:
- For those interested in exploring podcasts to complement their current curriculum, I recommend the following: (1) distinguish between serial and episodic podcasts, (2) identify relevant podcasts, and (3) align podcasts with course objectives.
- Curate a list of high-quality criminology podcasts that align with the topics the course covers. Begin by checking out “The JustPod,” a podcast produced by the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section.
- Assigning students to create their own podcasts on criminology topics fosters active learning. This project involves students in an engaging and creative application of course concepts. Since there are many ways to design podcast creation assignments, here is a brief example from one of my courses. Students conduct interviews about the types of media people consume related to law and how it affects them. Students then edit and produce a podcast based off the interviews. The core learning goal is for students to consider how media can impact people’s cognitions, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors related to law, legal actors, legal systems, and so forth. In addition, students learn how to: (1) design interview protocols, (2) conduct qualitative interviews, (3) present orally, and (4) record and edit audio files.
Golob’s students discuss law and justice through their podcast projects and leave his class with their own podcasts that they are encouraged to share broadly.
“Our criminology courses challenge students to analyze and confront the most pressing social justice issues (e.g., hate crimes, immigration, gun control, policing, incarceration),” he notes. “Ultimately, I exhort us all to encourage our students to continue these conversations and efforts long after class ends. With or without the assistance of technology, their voices need to be heard.”
Last year, The Orange County Register named Dean Jon Gould and alumni Jennifer Friend (B.A., Social Ecology 1995) and Kelsey Morgan (Ph.D. Social Ecology, 2024) among the most influential people in 2023. For 2022, alumnus Maurice Sanchez (B.A., Social Ecology, 1978), made the list. And, Elizabeth Cauffman, professor of psychological science, made the list for 2020.