On Nov. 14, 2025, the results were in: Dr. Regina “Gina” White Benedict’s book Incarceration and Older Women: Giving Back, Not Giving Up had won the Division of Feminist Criminology Award from the American Society of Criminology.

This award recognizes the outstanding achievements of sociologists and activists in their respective fields.

“The Division of Feminist Criminology facilitates and promotes research and theory development, pedagogical strategies, and curricular enhancement that strengthen the links between gender, crime, and justice,” an official statement from the organization reads.

The dissertation by Benedict, a beloved MC faculty member who established the College’s Criminal Justice program and died unexpectedly in 2021, did all of those things and more.

“Dr. Benedict was looking at incarcerated older women and how they make meaning out of their lives while incarcerated,” Dr. Sharon May, economics professor and chair of the Division of Social Sciences at Maryville College, said. “She observed that these women were always finding ways to give back. Whether it was supporting and guiding younger women, distant family or fellow prisoners, they were looking for ways to make meaningful contributions from a life that had some challenges. And that’s what Gina was trying to capture in her dissertation.”

Benedict conducted most of her research in 2007 and wrote the dissertation that became the book while a graduate student in sociology specializing in criminology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

“Dr. Benedict wanted to showcase good. In general, whatever dissertation she would choose to do, she wanted to give a voice to groups who are socially marginalized,” Dr. Lois Presser, professor of sociology at UTK and Benedict’s dissertation advisor, said. “In time, as her research progressed, Dr. Benedict could see the strength and resilience in the women who participated in her study, and she wanted to amplify those qualities to make them visible.”

The process of preparing Dr. Benedict’s dissertation for publishing was an easy one, according to Presser, who, along with Dr. Beth Easterling, a lecturer at Roanoke College, edited Benedict’s book.

“The dissertation itself was clear and absorbing, and because Gina had already devoted much effort and energy into turning her dissertation into a book, I had that draft already on my computer,” Presser said.

Benedict became an adjunct instructor at MC in 2011. She spent the next four years working to establish the Criminal Justice major, until 2015, when it was formally introduced as part of the College’s academic catalog.

“She did incredible work building our criminal justice program,” May said. “Today, the structure of the major is very much what Gina helped us set up.”

Benedict became a full-time assistant professor of criminal justice in 2016 and continued to educate and inspire her students until her untimely passing in 2021.

“Her students loved her. They absolutely loved her,” May said. “She did an incredible job helping her students have a good experience during their time at MC, and then later setting them up for law enforcement, legal, social work and social justice careers.”

Now, three years later, the impact Benedict still has on the MC campus is profound. In 2022, her family created and dedicated the Dr. Regina White Benedict Scholarship in Benedict’s name. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to students planning to major or minor in Criminal Justice, with preference given to nontraditional women working toward a degree.

This year, the recipient of the Dr. Regina White Benedict Scholarship is Kaylee Galyon ’26. Benedict’s family was recognized at the annual MC Scholarship Dinner, which took place on Thursday, Nov. 13, when the book award was also announced.

Today, Benedict’s daughter Zoe Benedict ’26 is currently enrolled at Maryville College, and her other daughter, Mia Benedict, is a senior at Bearden High School.

“The MC community will forever remain inspired and grateful for all Dr. Benedict did,” May said. “Not only for the criminal justice department, but for the impact she had on MC in its entirety.”

Maryville College is a nationally ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges, located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville. Maryville College offers more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”

Karen Eldridge, Executive Director of Communications: karen.eldridge@maryvillecollege.edu.

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