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The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees has awarded its prestigious Wang Family Excellence Award, Outstanding Faculty Scholarship, to Gisela Bichler, Cal State San Bernardino professor of criminal justice and co-founder of the university’s Center for Criminal Justice Research.
She formally received the award during a ceremony at the Jan. 28 CSU Board of Trustees meeting, along with four other Wang Award recipients: Rashida M. Crutchfield, Cal State Long Beach professor of social work, Outstanding Faculty Service; Kimberly Stillmaker, associate professor of civil engineering, Fresno State, Outstanding Faculty Innovator in Student Success; Nanda Ganesan, professor of information systems, Cal State Los Angeles, Outstanding Faculty Teaching; and Freddie Sánchez, interim assistant vice president of Student Affairs, Equity & Inclusion, Cal State Northridge, Outstanding Staff Performance.
The award was established in November 1998 by then-CSU Trustee Stanley T. Wang and his family to recognize four faculty members and one CSU administrator who, through extraordinary commitment and dedication, have distinguished themselves in their academic disciplines or university assignments.
As part of their recognition, each honoree will receive a $20,000 award that is provided through a gift from Trustee Emeritus Stanley T. Wang and administered through the CSU Foundation.
CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales praised Bichler for being recognized with the Wang Family Excellence Award.
“Professor Bichler’s steadfast, multi-faceted contributions to our campus and community have helped to transform the lives of countless students, further advancing CSUSB and Cal State University’s excellence in teaching, research, student support and community contributions,” Morales said. “We are privileged to have Professor Bichler as part of our Coyote family.”
“I am truly grateful to receive the Wang Family Excellence Award for Outstanding Faculty Scholarship,” said Bichler. “This recognition for excellence is a great honor because it validates my hard work and commitment to multidisciplinary research, advancing the science of crime prevention and the fields of intelligence and crime analysis.”
Bichler, who is the CSUSB John M. Pfau Endowed Professor, Criminal Justice, is the seventh CSUSB faculty member to receive a Wang Family Excellence Award, joining fellow faculty members Cynthia Crawford (psychology, 2021), Brian Levin, (criminal justice, 2020), Stuart Sumida (biology, 2008), Alan L. Smith (geology, 2006), Robert Blackey (history, 2003), and Diane Halpern (psychology, 1999).
“Professor Bichler is passionate about her work and shares that energy and excitement with those around her,” said Rafik Mohamed, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “She is highly regarded by our campus community for her far-reaching and impactful contributions and has a demonstrated record of service excellence. She has supported her department and college as a member or chair of the College Evaluation Committee, the Hiring Committee, the Department RPT Committee and others.”
In a nominating letter to Nathan S. Evans, CSU deputy vice chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs, President Morales praised Bichler’s scholarly contributions, as well as her teaching excellence.
“Since joining CSUSB’s Department of Criminal Justice (now called the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice) 25 years ago, she has risen to be not only one of the preeminent professors in the history of our campus but a national and international leader in crime analysis, situational crime prevention and social network analysis,” he said.
Bichler was recognized with CSUSB’s 2017-18 Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activities Award for her impressive contributions to the field of criminal justice, and last year received the CSUSB 2023-24 Outstanding Professor Award.
A prolific researcher whose work has been cited nearly 2,000 times, Bichler has authored 63 publications and 44 technical reports and has given more than 100 research presentations to local, national and international audiences. Within the last five years alone, she has authored “Understanding Criminal Networks: A Research Guide,” published by the University of California Press, more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles (10 of these with students) and three book chapters.
In addition to her research productivity, Bichler has secured more than $4.5 million in external funding, nearly $2 million of which is from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Justice and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Bichler was instrumental in elevating CSUSB’s Intelligence and Crime Analysis option into a new bachelor of science degree program in 2007 and served 15 years as its program coordinator. With five majors, the program consistently enrolls 90 to 120 majors.
At the university level, Bichler served five years on the High Impact Practices Steering Committee and the Faculty Research Advisory Council, among other committees.
She also has provided a wealth of pro bono support to local and national police departments and public service agencies to help understand patterns of criminal activity. Her extensive investigative works have been harnessed to prevent crime, disrupt unlawful markets and reduce community crime programs, particularly in the areas of gang violence, international and regional drug trafficking, illicit small arms and light weapons.
Bichler received her bachelor’s degree in criminology from Simon Fraser University in Canada, and her master’s and doctorate degrees in criminal justice from Rutgers University.