Professor Stephen Rosoff

Stephen Rosoff, professor of criminology.

Stephen Rosoff, professor of criminology, passed away March 27.

“This is a huge loss,” said Steven Egger, associate professor of criminology. “He was my best friend and one of the smartest people I know.”

“Dr. Rosoff never lost an opportunity to poke fun at me,” remembered Candice Tucker, graduate criminology student. “He knew that I’d always be the one to fall for his corny jokes, and he would tell the students in his other classes, ‘There’s this one girl who will believe anything I say.’  The one time I did not believe him was the one time he was actually telling the truth; turns out he really did own his own pickle-making business, and used the profits from that to finance his Harvard education.”

Rosoff earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and social relations from Harvard University in 1982. He then earned a master’s degree and a doctorate degree from the University of California, Irvine.

“Dr. Rosoff is absolutely my hero and the reason that I decided to pursue criminology,” said Brenda Ross, graduate criminology student.

After serving as a lecturer at Indiana University-Bloomington, Rosoff began teaching sociology at UHCL in 1988.

“Dr. Rosoff was a phenomenal professor, a confidant and a friend to his students,” said Joyce Delores Taylor, graduate multicultural education student. “He was a role model and he will be missed.

Rosoff began teaching criminology in 2003 and became a full professor of criminology in 2008.

“Dr. Rosoff was one of the most compassionate, caring, intelligent, and thoughtful people I’ve ever encountered,” Tucker said. “He was my professor, my mentor, and in the last few months of his life he became my friend. He always said that if he were a monarch, he’d be known as ‘Rosoff the Good.’ I beg to differ.  I think he will be known as ‘Rosoff the Great.’”