Dear ASC members,

During the April 2025 mid-year meeting of the ASC Board, there was a review and consideration of the Long-Range Planning Committee’s (LRPC) report, including a recommended Executive Director (ED) transition plan that built upon a previous LRPC plan (first presented in April 2016 and approved by the ASC Board shortly thereafter). Among other things, the 2025 LRPC recommended a timeline for the transition, hiring a consultant to identify organizational strengths and gaps, putting in place a search committee for the next Executive Director, and surveying the ASC membership on their goals for the organization.

The Board voted in favor of the LRPC’s transition plan. Shortly thereafter, during the meeting, Chris Eskridge, the ASC Executive Director, resigned. At no time during this meeting was any ASC board member or the ED asked or pushed to resign, or step aside. No one was fired. The ED made the decision to resign, effective immediately, after the Board’s vote.

The ASC Executive Board extends thanks and gratitude to Chris. For more than four decades, he has led the American Society of Criminology. Under his direction, the organization has grown exponentially—both in membership and status. Today, the ASC is the premier criminological association. Chris always worked to bring in a broad range of criminologists. In addition to academics, he worked to ensure that the Society included policy experts, international members, students, and independent researchers.

The Board is taking measured steps to ensure the continuous healthy functioning of the organization. The Board will identify ways to honor Chris’s many contributions to the ASC.

ASC President Katheryn Russell-Brown, on behalf of the ASC Executive Board