Yablonsky will receive his award during a special ceremony in Atlanta, Ga., next month.

Yablonsky said he felt privileged to receive the award. Yablonsky started teaching sociology and criminology at CSUN in 1963 and he retired in 1996. He has written approximately 16 books, has presented many lectures and papers at numerous academic conferences and today serves as an expert witness for the criminal justice system, in primarily gang juvenile court cases. He is currently working on his 17th book, Criminology: Into the 21st Century.

The knowledge Yablonsky has gained from the seven to ten thousand interviews he has conducted with gang members over the last 25 years has placed him in the unique position of understanding the dangers and nuances of the gang "culture."

"I probably have a lot more to give now than ever before in my life. I¹ve learned what it¹s like to be the underdog," Yablonsky said.

California State University, Northridge has more than 32,000 full- and part-time students and offers 59 bachelor¹s and 41 master¹s degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher learning."