April 22, 2024

The University mourns the loss of Professor Emeritus Leo Carroll, long-time professor and former chair of sociology and anthropology at URI, who passed away last week.

Caroll grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts. He received his B.A. from Providence College, his M.S. from Fordham University, and his Ph.D. from Brown University. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army in the late 1960s during the Vietnam War. After receiving his Ph.D., he taught sociology and criminology at URI for 45 years, serving as chair of the department of Sociology and Anthropology for 12 of those years.

Professor Carroll received the URI President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1975. He was internationally known as a criminologist and published numerous articles in professional journals over the years, as well as two acclaimed books on criminal justice, one of which was named Book of the Year in 2000 by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. In addition, Carroll served as a visiting research fellow in the Center for Criminal Justice at Harvard Law School, as a fellow at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin, and as a professor in the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in Texas.

He retired from URI in 2018.

Carroll served on several boards, including the ACLU of Rhode Island and the South County YMCA. He also served as senior warden at St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Narragansett. He was a great lover of animals and said his children and grandchildren were his greatest joy.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 24 at St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Narragansett, with a funeral service to follow.

To read the full obituary, click here.