Ph.D. (1970) University of Wisconsin
M.A. (1966) University of Wisconsin
B.A. (1964) Drew University
Professor Friday is a former chair of the department and most known for his international research in the areas of delinquency, delinquency prevention, Victimology and violence. He retired in 2016 after 46 years of university teaching. His specialties were International Crime and Criminal Justice, Violence and the Violent Offender and Victimology. Dr. Friday was also the Director of the department’s International Center for China Studies.
In 2020 he was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who in America. Dr. Friday also received an award for his lifetime commitment and contributions to the study of Victimology by the World Society of Victimology (2012). He was nominated by UNCC for the Board of Governor’s Award for Outstanding Community Service in 2010 and that year was awarded the Stephen Newman Award as Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. He received the UNCC award as International Educator of the year (2006); the John P. Dussich award for lifetime scholarship contributions to Victimology by the American Society of Victimology (2006) and has been recognized as a Senior Research Scholar in the Institute for Social Capital, UNCC.
Dr. Friday’s publications include eight books including Delinquency and Juvenile Justice in the Non-Western World (with Xin Ren, 2006), Different Responses to Violence in Japan and America (with JPJ Dussich, A. Yamagami and T. Okada, 2001) Victimology At The Transition From The 20th To 21st Century (with G.F. Kirchhoff, 2000). He has published over 100 peer reviewed manuscripts including a series of articles based on a five-year project on a Chinese Birth Cohort. For this research he received an award for Outstanding Contributions to Chinese Research by China Society for Research in Juvenile Delinquency in 2002. Other research has been on an evaluation of a special domestic violence unit in the Charlotte Police Department, Community Policing, Police use of force and a critical article on “Abuse of Power: Issues of Theory and Policy” in a United Nations Publication. He served for ten years as an NGO representative to The United Nations Crime Commission in Vienna and to the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Committee of the United Nations. He served for 24 years as an Executive Counsellor and Treasurer of the World Society of Victimology . He was a founding member and former President and Executive Board member of the International Division of the American Society of Criminology.
Dr. Friday’s most recent research included studies on the homeless, chronic offenders, drugs and crime, youth drug use and abuse, community best practices in the delivery of mental health and substance abuse treatment, and other community program evaluations.
He was a founder and Past Chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Drug Free Coalition, and he was a member of the Charlotte Homicide Task Force in 2009. Before coming to Charlotte he was Director of Criminal Justice at Western Michigan University for 20 years. He was Chairman of the Kalamazoo County (MI) Criminal Justice Commission and served on the State of Michigan Community Corrections Board.
Now retired, Dr. Friday is doing local evaluation research and consulting.