Alan Tomkins, the director of the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, has been named the winner of a national award for contributions to the administration of justice, the American Judges Association announced Oct. 21.
Tomkins will receive the Glenn R. Winters Award, given by the association to recognize a person who is not a judge who has made a significant contribution to the administration of justice. Tomkins was recognized for his work in editing two legal journals, including one specifically for judges; his work in making social-science information accessible to the legal community; and his work through the Public Policy Center in assisting courts.
“Alan has provided great service to the judiciary both through his work at the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center and by giving generously of his time in public service to the judiciary,” said Elliott Zide, president of the American Judges Association. “We are pleased to recognize his accomplishments.”
Tomkins has been the director of the center since 1998. The center has done several projects related to court administration, including evaluating Nebraska’s judicial system, serving as the academic consultant for Nebraska’s minority-justice initiative and collaborating with the National Center for State Courts on a national survey of the public’s views of state courts. That work on public opinion led to a program of research, funded by the National Science Foundation, to measure and better understand trust in the courts and other governmental institutions.
Tomkins has been the editor of two legal publications. For the past five years, he has been the co-editor of Court Review, a quarterly journal for judges, and he previously spent 11 years in editorial roles with Behavioral Sciences & the Law, an interdisciplinary journal.
In addition to his work at the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, Tomkins is a UNL professor of psychology and law in the Law-Psychology Program.
Previous recipients of the Winters Award include Rep. Peter Rodino (D-NJ) and U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), U.S. Solicitor General and Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, philanthropist Joan Kroc, journalist James Kilpatrick and academics Charles Whitebread of the University of Southern California and Daniel Freed of Yale University.
