CHICAGO, IL — November 17, 2022 – Renowned sociologist, criminologist, social worker, and alumnus of Loyola University Chicago Reuben Jonathan Miller has been awarded a coveted 2022 MacArthur Fellowship. As one of this year’s 25 MacArthur fellows, Miller will receive a no-strings-attached grant of $800,000 over five years to support his work. 

Awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the prestigious fellowship recognizes individuals from across disciplines who “show exceptional creativity in their work.”  

Miller, who earned his PhD in sociology from Loyola in 2013 and returned to campus as the keynote speaker for the School of Social Work’s 2018 commencement ceremony, studies the long-term consequences that incarceration and re-entry systems have on the lives of individuals and their families. 

“This is a well-deserved honor for Reuben, and it furthers our department’s commitment to fostering intellectual leadership that advances a just society,” said Dr. Peter Rosenblatt, chair of the Department of Sociology. “All of us at Loyola are excited for him and look forward to seeing what comes next.” 

During his time at Loyola, Miller served as a pre-doctoral fellow and graduate student editorial assistant for the Gateways International Journal of Community University Engagement, as well as a doctoral dissertation fellow with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  

The basic fieldwork for his recent book, Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration, was conducted for his dissertation at Loyola. In the book, Miller explores the aftermath and lingering effects of imprisonment from both a scholarly and intimately personal perspective. 

Miller currently teaches at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago, where he studies and writes at the intersection of race, democracy, and the social life of the city. He is also a research professor at the American Bar Foundation. His ethnographic research examines and traces the effects of incarceration and supervision outside of prison walls, across aspects like policing, trauma, and re-entry programs, with a focus on communities of color and those living in poverty. 

Learn more about Reuben Jonathan Miller’s work at Loyola University Chicago here and consider making a gift to the Graduate School and the Department of Sociology’s ongoing scholarship here. 

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About Loyola University Chicago  

Founded in 1870, Loyola University Chicago is one of the nation’s largest Jesuit, Catholic universities, with nearly 17,500 students. The University has four campuses: three in the greater Chicago area and one in Rome, Italy, as well as a course location in Vernon Hills, Illinois (Cuneo Mansion and Gardens), and a Retreat and Ecology Campus in Woodstock, Illinois. The University features 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. Ranked a top national university by U.S. News & World Report, Loyola is also among a select group of universities recognized for community service and engagement by prestigious national organizations including AmeriCorps and the Carnegie Foundation. To learn more about Loyola, visit LUC.edu or follow us on Twitter via @LoyolaChicago.