William Calathes

An activist, human rights lawyer, and labor leader, Dr. William Calathes has served as a Professor of Criminal Justice at New Jersey City University since September 1987.

Dr. Calathes has administered educational programs in prison systems, served as a Board member of halfway houses, enforced consent decrees on Riker’s Island, reviewed the United Nations' International Tribunal in Rwanda, assisted in voting rights litigation in Kenya, and was a union organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union. In addition, he is a long-time official in local and state AFT union organizations, having served as the AFT Local 1839 president for six years.

He has presented scores of papers in academic conferences around the world, and met with the Council of Elders in the United Arab Emirates following the 9/11 tragedies to discuss the dangers of neo-liberalism and fascism. He served as a research consultant on the United Nations' Project on Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and held the position of the Criminologist Consultant for the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commission in Colombia, working on maximizing transitional justice and alternative justice mechanisms in the peace process.

Dr. Calathes has recently published on a number of white collar crime issues, including mortgage fraud and the LIBOR international banking scandal and is a certified expert in white collar crime. His recent research and writing in the areas of prison abolition, police accountability, and community empowerment. He also worked on numerous Department of Justice Community Policing Grants and has been an activist and organizer against the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy.

He received a B.A. in Political Science from the City College of New York (summa cum laude), an M.A in Criminal Justice from John Jay College, a J.D. from the City University Law School at Queens College, and holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from New York Graduate School and University Center.