The WVU Division of Sociology and Anthropology will present”Hate Crimes,”a lecture by Jack McDevitt, a nationally-recognized expert on violence resulting from bigotry, today (Feb. 3) beginning at 7 p.m. in the Mountainlair Gluck Theater. This public lecture is offered at no cost.

McDevitt is associate dean of research and graduate studies in the College of Criminal Justice, NortheasternUniversity, in Boston. He has written, with Jack Levin, a sociologist at Northeastern, two influential books, Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed, and Hate Crimes Revisited: Americas War on Those Who Are Different. McDevitt also directs the Institute on Race and Justice at Northeastern, which examines the influence of race on social justice and has conducted nationally-recognized studies on the structural causes of racial injustice.

McDevitt has appeared frequently on national news programs and has served as an expert witness before the judiciary committees of both houses of the U.S. Congress. His appearance at WVU was initiated by James Nolan, a WVU assistant professor of sociology, who has collaborated with McDevitt on research projects.