Department of Sociology
Western Michigan University
THE SOCIALIZER
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Sociology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 387-5270
May 2005
Notes from the Chair Tom Van Valey
If I recall correctly, this is the second opportunity I have had to write such a column. The first time was almost six years ago. I had just taken on the responsibility of department chair and Pat Martin was still the department’s administrative assistant. At that time, I spoke of a number of changes that had just taken place along with the future and the goals I had for the department. These included such things as reducing the teaching load for the faculty, further developing the high level of scholarly productivity ‑ of faculty and students alike, building on the strength of the PhD program, increasing the level of communication within the department about salient issues, and decentralizing decision‑making. Change is simply a fact of life. Certainly, during my time as chair, lots of things have changed.
There have been a lot of changes among the support staff for the department ‑ indeed almost everyone is new. Pat Martin retired during my first year, and Sharon Myers joined us as the department’s administrative assistant. I told her when she started that her real job ‑ not the one that is in her job description ‑ was to keep me out of jail (at that time, Ralph Chandler had just left the university because of some financial dealings). She has done a wonderful job (and indeed, received the Staff Service Excellence Award in 2003). Amy Doxtater, our academic advisor left us to work for a pharmaceutical company (she has since also had a baby). Susan Standish (who was the administrative assistant for the Kercher Center after Lois Carl retired), moved into the advisor’s position. It was a good thing too, because not much later, the KCSR position was cut as part of a cost saving move in the College. Then, a couple of years ago, Karen Rice decided to retire after many years as the administrative assistant for the Criminal Justice program. She was replaced by Judy Peppel, who herself just retired a few weeks ago. The new administrative assistant for CJ is Anna Lee Miller, who helped to put this newsletter together. Diana Newman, who managed the Michigan Alcohol and Other Drugs School Survey project, was replaced by Jane Spencer, and the project continues after 16 years of operation.
There has also been considerable turnover in faculty. I am just a few months from leaving the chair and stepping back into the ranks of the faculty (after a six month sabbatical). Dave Hartmann will assume the responsibilities of the Chair in July. Jim Petersen is now the Dean of the Graduate College at the University of North Carolina ‑ Greensboro. Herb Smith, Morty Wagenfeld, and Lew Walker have all retired. Jane Davidson, who had been a joint appointment with the Evaluation Center, returned to New Zealand. Tim Diamond, who came to us from California, stayed for a few years and then went to Toronto. We have also hired a number of new faculty: Victoria Ross (medical sociology ‑ joint with the School of Public Affairs and Administration), Paul Ciccantell (comparative), Barry Goetz (criminology), Angie Moe (criminology), Rachel Whaley (statistics), and Laura Citrin (social psychology ‑ joint with Gender and Women’s Studies). We are a different department than we were even five years ago, and there is more change in the wind. I am retiring in two years. There are at least five other faculty who could also retire within the next three or four years.
We have achieved a lot in the past six years. The Teaching load on the faculty has been eased (although the numbers of students we teach have steadily risen). We have restructured the graduate program to focus more directly on the PhD. We continue to graduate a sizeable number of PhD’s each year, and they are getting jobs at good places, both academic and non‑academic. We have made it through some difficult economic times at the university, and it looks like more are on the horizon. However, our endowments have helped (and more would be especially welcome at this juncture). Whether you are experiencing it with us, or you are just an interested observer, I hope you enjoy the ride. I don’t think it will be a bumpy one. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing where the department goes in the next few years.
A Word from the CJ Director Ron Kramer
With approximately 450 majors and a professionally active faculty, the undergraduate Criminal Justice Program continues to play a major role in the Department.
With the addition of Dr. Angie Moe and Dr. Rachel Whaley several years ago, we now have ten Department of Sociology faculty members that can be involved in the Criminal Justice Program in some capacity. Enrollment in CJ courses remains high and 30 to 40 students participate in criminal justice internships every semester (including the Summer Sessions).
Under the direction of student President Gabe Green, the Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA) has been revived, with an office across the hall from the Criminal Justice Program office. The CJSA organizes a wide variety of activities every year, including a Career Fair.
Faculty associated with the Criminal Justice Program continue to be active researchers and scholars publishing their work in a variety of venues and making presentations at professional associations such as the American Society of Criminology. CJ faculty members are also active in service to the local community, participating in programs such as the Better Tomorrows delinquency prevention project and the Kalamazoo County Coalition on Criminal Justice.
A Word from the Kercher Center Director David Hartmann
The Kercher Center for Social Research (KCSR) is a research arm of the Department of Sociology at Western Michigan University. It was founded in 1956 and so has now operated for almost 50 years. The KCSR emphasizes multi-disciplinary collaboration and consultation and is committed to providing quality research services in combination with effective student training.
Principal Investigators on Center projects hold faculty appointments in Sociology and collaborating departments. They are assisted by professional staff and by experienced graduate and undergraduate research assistants. David J. Hartmann, Ph.D. University of Chicago (1987) has been Director of the Center since 1996. During that time the KCSR has completed approximately 70 projects including:
*Evaluations of Drug Courts in Kalamazoo County. Approximately $140,000.
*Building Restorative Communities: Planning and Implementation Grants. State of Michigan, Office of Juvenile Justice Programs. With Angie Moe and Rachel Whaley. Approximately $20,000.
*Evaluation of Kalamazoo’s Community Health Access Collaborative. With Victoria Ross. Kalamazoo County (for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Approximately $85,000.
*Evaluation of the Michigan Drug Court Grant Program. With Ron Kramer, Barry Goetz, and Subhash Sonnad. Michigan Supreme Court, State Court Administrative Office. $100,606.
*An Institutional Change Model for Teaching Research Ethics. With Michael Pritchard, Thomas Van Valey, Sylvia Culp, and Wayne Fuqua. National Science Foundation. $232,459.
*Prevalence and Dimensions of Problem Gambling in Michigan. Three studies with Arlen Gullickson. Michigan Department of Community Health and Bureau of the State Lottery. $220,000.
*Collaborative Learning and Teaching Through Technology. Robert Leneway, Project Director. U.S. Department of Education ($1,190, 048). Evaluation budget: $78,000.
*Southwest Michigan Health Professions Initiative. With Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Bronson Methodist Hospital, Borgess Medical Center, and South Haven Community Hospital. (PI: Tom Johnson, M.D.). State of Michigan, Department of Community Health. ($2,227,977). Evaluation budget: $101,475.
*Leadership and Training Needs for Black Administrators. Western Michigan University, Institute for Leadership Transformation and the National Association for Black School Educators. $8,736.
*Resources and Strain Among ARD Elders and Their Caregivers in Arkansas. Research Director, responsible for survey research components. With Neale Chumbler. (PI: Corneilia Beck). Alzheimer’s Association. ($211,000). Evaluation budget: $48,000.
*Michigan Alcohol and Other Drug Studies. Tom Van Valey, PI. Over $2,000,000 since 1992.
Sociology Department (left to right, front row) Rachel Whaley, Craig Tollini, Kristin DeVall, Emily Lenning, Susan Caulfield, Sharon Myers, Paula Brush, Laura Citrin, Dawn Rothe (2nd row, left to right) Barry Goetz, Judy Peppel, Zoann Snyder, Charles Crawford, Subash Sonnad, Paul Ciccantell, Susan Standish, David Hartmann (3rd row, left to right) Jane Marie Spencer, Ronald Kramer, Kathleen Tiemann, Angela Moe, Susan Carlson, Gregory Howard, Janine Ralston, Yashica Williams, Mieko Yamada (4th row, left to right) Paul Wienir, Tom Van Valey, Gerald Markle, Tom Ford, Douglas Davidson, William Post
Sangren Hall – Home of the Sociology Department
Arrivals and Departures
Angela Moe Rachel Laura Citrin
Bridges Whaley
The Department welcomes our newest faculty members Angela Moe, Rachel Whaley and Laura Citrin.
Angela Moe received her BS degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire (1996), her MS degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (1998), and her PhD in Justice Studies from Arizona State University (2001). Before coming to Western Michigan University, she served as an Assistant Professor on the faculty at the University of Texas, Arlington. Within criminology, her primary area of interest is domestic violence, particularly the elements of the criminal justice system that deal with domestic violence and its consequences for the women involved. She has published articles in refereed journals, has several more articles currently under review, and has made numerous presentations at professional meetings. Angie has been with us since 2002.
Rachel Bridges Whaley has a BA in Sociology and Women’s studies from Rutgers University (1991), and both MA and PhD degrees in Sociology from the State University of New York at Albany (1995 and 1999, respectively). Her areas of expertise include research methods and statistics, violence, especially violence against women, and juvenile delinquency. Prior to coming to WMU, she was a Senior Data Analyst at the Oregon social Learning Center in Eugene, Oregon, where she worked on longitudinal panel studies of juvenile delinquents. She has a number of published research articles to her credit, and has been a frequent presenter at regional and national professional meetings. Whaley is currently Associate Director of the Kercher Center for Social Research.
Laura Citrin earned her BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley (1992) and both her MA and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan (the MA in Social Psychology in 2000, and the PhD in Social Psychology and Women’s Studies in 2004). Her areas of expertise include the social psychology of gender, emotions (particularly moralizing emotions such as disgust and shame), and cultural ideologies about the body. Her dissertation was entitled, “Disgust and ‘Normal’ Corporeality: How Cultural Ideologies about Gender, Race, and Class are Inscribed on the Body.” Her recent publications include a chapter that examines the reciprocal relationship between gender and emotional expression, which can be found in Tiedens and Leach (Eds.), The Social Life of Emotions. She has a joint appointment here at WMU in Sociology and the program in Gender and Women’s Studies. Stop by her office if you want to talk about that which disgusts!
Judy Peppel AnnaLee Miller
Judy Peppel, Office Assistant in the Criminal Justice Program, retired March 31, 2005 after three years in the department and 16 years at the university. Although Judy cannot be replaced, her position has been filled by AnnaLee Miller, who comes to us from the Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology Department in the College of Education.
Sharon Myers
Sharon Myers joined the department in January 2000, replacing Pat Martin. She came to us from the Political Science department. Sharon is an asset to us with her extensive knowledge in accounting and her wonderful organizational skills. Sharon has also been conducting workshops teaching faculty and staff how to use the new Banner system, which WMU has been slowly implementing over the past year to replace ISIS.
Susan Standish & Skippy
Susan has become the new Advisor for the Sociology department replacing Amy Doxtater who left to pursue other interests. Susan had previously been working in the Kercher Center. She advises both undergraduate and graduate students!
Faculty News
New on the Shelf
State-Corporate Crime: Wrongdoing At The Intersection Of Business And Government. (Co-edited with Raymond J. Michalowski). Piscataway, N.J.: Rutgers University Press (Forthcoming, 2006). Ron Kramer
“The Supreme International Crime: How The U.S. War in Iraq Threatens the Rule of Law.” Ron Kramer, (With Raymond J. Michalowski). Forthcoming in Social Justice 32 (No. 2, July, 2005).
“The role of accountability in attenuating managers’ pre-interview biases against African-American sales job applicants.” Ford, T.E., Gambino, F., Lee, H., Mayo, E., & Ferguson, M.A. (2005). Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Managements, 24, 113-124.
“Educational Change in Time of Social Revolution: The Case of Postcommunist Russia in Comparative Perspective” Vyacheslav Karpov and Elena Lisovskya. 2005. Educational Reform in Post-Soviet Russia: Legacies & Prospects. London and New York: Frank Cass. P23-54.
“Objectification Theory and Emotions: A feminist psychological perspective on gendered affect.” Citrin, L.B., Roberts, T., & Fredrickson, B.L. 2004. In L.Z. Tiedens & C.W. Leach The Social Life of Emotions (p203-223) New York: Cambridge University Press.
“Social consequences of disparagement humor: A prejudiced norm theory.” Ford, T.E. & Ferguson, M. (2004). Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 79-94.
“Teaching notes and case material for Tim Hanks: A case study of unintentional racism”
Grossman, R.W. & Ford, T.E. (2004)
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/ubcase.htm
“Coping sense of humor reduces effects of stereotype threat on women’s math performance.” Ford, T.E., Ferguson, M.A., Brooks, J., and Hagadone, K.M. (2004). Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 643-653.
“Measurement of Communal Strength” Mills, J., Clark, M.S., Ford, T.E., & Johnson, M. (2004). Personal Relationships, 11, 213-230
“The Economic Ascent of China and the Potential for Restructuring the Capitalist World-Economy”, Paul Ciccantell and Stephen Bunker. Journal of World Systems Research. Fall 2004.
“Malign Neglect or Benign Respect: Women’s Health Care in a Carceral Setting”, Angela Moe & Kathleen Ferraro. Women and Criminal Justice Vol. 14. 2003
“Community Building and Re-integrative Approaches to Community Policing: The Case of Drug Control,” Social Justice: A Journal of Crime, Conflict & World Order, 30, 222-247. Goetz, Barry and Mitchell, Roger. 2003
Handbook of Science and Technology Studies, by Jerry Markle, (Sage Publications, 2001, 2nd edition), translated into Chinese by Beijing Institute of Technology Press.
“Blurring the Boundaries: Women’s Criminality in the Context of Abuse”, by Angela Moe, Women’s Studies Quarterly, 32 (3-4), 116-138.
Crimes of the American Nuclear State: At Home and Abroad. (With David Kauzlarich.) Boston: Northeastern University Press (1998). Ron Kramer
Awards from the American Sociological Association
The ASA is winding up its Integrating Data Analysis (IDA) Project, funded by the National Science Foundation. This three year, small grant program, conducted in collaboration with the University of Michigan’s Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN), sought to address the quantitative literacy gap in sociology.
The IDA project is in its dissemination phase. The ASA coordinated this NSF funded
small grants program in order to promote more experiments to enhance quantitative literacy. Departments could apply to undertake innovations in their own context, using IDA and SSDAN and creating their own materials. The following proposals were competitively selected for funding: Susan L. Caulfield and Susan M. Carlson will pilot a mid-level class on “Methods of Data Collection,” with an emphasis on integrating data analysis within and across required courses. As the first course sociology majors take after declaring their major, “Methods of Data Collection” will introduce quantitative analysis early in the sociology curriculum.
Rachel Bridges Whaley and Susan L. Caulfield will develop sociology and criminal justice modules, and modify modules that have already been developed for other faculty and instructors to use in order to help integrate principles of data analysis into the entire sociology curriculum. They will pilot the modules in the summer sessions.
Faculty on the Road!!
During the last year alone, faculty made more than 50 presentations at professional meetings! The following are just a few examples.
The Midwest Sociological Society, 2005
“Women’s Academic Activism: A Model for Multicultural Initiatives in Higher Education”, Paula Steward Brush
“Rhetoric of Resistance: Teaching Feminism to Students in a Post-Feminist Cultural Environment” by Laura Citrin
“Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: Feminist Research within Military Culture” by Angela Moe.”
“Sex Trafficking and Forced Prostitution: An Exploratory Study Examining the Role of the U.S. Military in a Global Crisis”.
The Sociology of Grief and Grieving by Zoann Snyder
“Queering Reel Space: An Analysis of Boys Don’t Cry and the Year of Living Dangerously”, by Liz Beardmore
“Engaging Students in Social Research: Cultivating their Imaginations” by Susan Caulfield
Gender Construction through Performance and Dance, Organizer/Presider Angela Moe
“Group Based Learning”
by Susan Caulfield
The North Central Sociological Association, 2005
Panel: “Reviewing Peers, Peers as Reviewers” by Tom Van Valey
“Behavioral Consequences of Exposure to Sexist Humor” by Thomas Ford
American Sociological Association, San Francisco, 2004
“Pre-Arrest/Booking Drug Control Strategies Among Police: Europe and the U.S.” by Barry Goetz
“The States of Institutional Review Boards”, by Tom Van Valey
Society for the Study of Social Problems, 2004
“Cultural Crises and Health” by Angela Moe
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, 2005
“Car Stereo Noise Violations and Arrest: Criminalizing Car Culture, Race and Pretextual Stops” by Charles Crawford
Coming Up….
World Congress of Criminology Meetings June 2005
“Can the Police Do Pre-Arrest/Booking Diversions? A Look at Mental Health, Drug Treatment and Social Service Interventions” by Barry Goetz
Graduate Student Recognition Dinner
The Annual Graduate Student Recognition dinner was held on March 19, 2005 at the Fetzer Center. This is an opportunity for the department to publicly recognize the fine work being done by our graduate students. A large number of students, faculty and staff were present for a pleasant evening. The Chair’s Excellence Awards were given to Dawn Rothe and Craig Tollini. Janine Ralston received the All University Graduate Student Teaching Effectiveness Award and Patrick Gerkin received the Graduate Student Teaching Effectiveness Award. The All University Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award went to Dawn Rothe and Christie Fitzgerald received the Outstanding Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award, M.A. Awards for Outstanding Graduate Research and Creative Scholar went to Mieko Yamada. Awards for Outstanding Graduate Scholars went to Tim Bower, Sara Brightman, Kristin DeVall, Christie Fitzgerald, Patrick Gerkin, Traci Ketter, Emily Lenning, Michael Macaluso, Flora Myamba, David Piacenti, Janine Ralston, Dawn Rothe, Kasey Tucker, Yashica Williams, and Mieko Yamada. Awards for Outstanding Graduate Teachers are Joseph Abbott, Tim Bower, Cathy Clevenger-Kidd, Kristin DeVall, Patrick Gerkin, Walter Jensen, Emily Lenning, Michael Macaluso, Megan Mullins, William Post, Janine Ralston, Steven Reifert, Dawn Rothe, Craig Tollini, Dan White, Yashica Williams and Mieko Yamada.
Congratulations to our recent graduates!
Masters students in April 2005 are Tonia Williams and Michael Macaluso. December 2004 Ph.D. graduates were Chad Kimmel and Megan Mullins. June 2004 Ph.D.’s were Vikki Curtis, Edith Fisher, Rhonda Elliott McGee, Martin Hill, Georgios Loizides, Sandra Schroer, Masters degrees went to Kelly Getman, Darrin Kowitz, Emily Lenning and Monique Moore and December 2003 Ph.D.’s were Tiffany Butzbaugh, Gayle Rhineberger, and Gwendolyn Whitfield, and a Masters degree for Carol Groves.
Read on to see what they are doing now…..
Monique Moore is working in Chicago with a state agency. Chad Kimmel is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Shippensburg State University in Pennsylvania. Rhonda (Elliott) McGee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Megan Mullins, Vikki Curtis and Edie Fisher are teaching here at WMU in the Women’s Studies Department. Emily Lenning is in the PhD program here at WMU. Michael Macaluso is also working on his Ph.D. Georgios Loizides is teaching at Grand Valley State University. Sandra Schroer is teaching at Muskingum College in Ohio. Gayle Rhineberger is at Southwest Missouri State University. Gwendolyn Whitfield is teaching at Pepperdine Unibersity in California.
Graduate Students Make Presentations
Like the faculty, our graduate students were also very active, making more than 30 presentations at professional meetings. Again, the following are only a few representative examples.
Midwest Sociological Society, 2005
Undergrad Student Research Roundtable/Discussant Flora Myamba
“The International Criminal Court: U.S. Opposition and the Future of the Court”, by Dawn Rothe
“International Community: Legitimizing a Consciousness” by Dawn Rothe
North Central Sociological Association, 2005
“Behavioral Consequences of Exposure to Sexist Humor” by Christie Fitzgerald and Nathan Metiva
“Framing College Student Credit Card Issues through an Examination of Claims-making: Public Problem or Private Trouble?” By Michael Macaluso
Society for Applied Sociology, 2004
“Trends in Adolescent Drug Use, Fifteen years of Survey Research” by Wally Post
College Alumni Awards
The College Alumni Achievement Awards are given annually to alumni that are recommended to the Dean by their departments. The Awards are given in recognition for the recipient's achievements in their fields and for their service to their departments. On the Friday of Homecoming, the recipients usually give a seminar and talk with graduate and undergraduate students in their department. The College sponsors a reception where the Dean awards Certificates of Achievements. The recipients also attend and are recognized at the University Distinguished Alumni Award Banquet, which is sponsored by the Alumni Association.
2004
Dr. Kathy Tiemann received her BA at Grand Valley State University (in 1978), and both her MA (1980) and her PhD (1984) at Western Michigan University. Following her graduation, she spent a year teaching at military bases in Europe for the University of Maryland, then took a position at Mercer University, in Macon, Georgia. After three years at Mercer, she moved to a position at the University of North Dakota and has remained in Grand Forks since, becoming an Associate, then a Full Professor. While in the Department of Sociology at UND, she has served as the Director of the Undergraduate and the Graduate Programs in Sociology, as well as the Women’s Studies Program. She has published more than two dozen books and articles, including two popular introductory level texts. She is currently engaged in a study of the occupational mobility of people who are or have been chairs of graduate departments of Sociology, and is serving as a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Sociology at WMU.
2003
Dr. Don Williams became WMU’s first Ph.D. recipient in sociology in 1968.
After receiving his Ph.D., he joined the faculty at what would become Grand
Valley State University, where he is currently a professor of Sociology and
Director of the Freshman Studies Program. Over his more than three decades
at GVSU, he has served as both a department chair and chair of the academic
senate. Dr. Williams helped establish an annual teaching conference
and the Faculty Teaching and Learning Center at GVSU and is active in
community service learning. As an applied sociologist, he has worked with a
number of community agencies including Habitat for Humanity, the Public
Health Department, the GRACE Institute on Racism, and the Lakeshore.
2002
Dr. Ann Goetting received her Ph.D. from WMU in 1978. She is currently a professor of sociology at Western Kentucky University where she teaches courses in gender and family issues. An active researcher, she is the author or co-editor of three books and numerous articles many dealing with domestic violence. This includes a 1999 publication entitled Getting Out: Life Stories of Women Who Left Abusive Men. Dr. Goetting has made many presentations at regional and national professional meetings, and she often serves as an expert witness in cases that involve battered women. She is also the editor of Network News, a newsletter for the organization Sociologists for Women in Society.
2001
Dr. Ronald J. Troyer graduated from Western Michigan University in 1980 with a doctorate in sociology after completing his undergraduate work at Huntington College and his master’s degree at Ball State University. Since July 2000, he has served as Provost of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa where he oversees 252 faculty in six different schools and colleges. From June 1994 to June 2000, Dr. Troyer was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the School of Fine Arts. His many responsibilities included overseeing faculty, curriculum development, maintaining records, and representing the college and faculty in interactions with the provost and president. Throughout his career at Drake, Dr. Troyer has held leadership roles on numerous boards and committees. In 1998, he served as Drake’s representative to the Associate New American Colleges Faculty Work Project. In 1993, he headed up the Faculty Senate Task Force on Learning Research. Dr. Troyer, also served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from July 1993-May 1994. He has contributed to many publications and is the co-author of two books.
2000
Keith Woods, who received both his B.A. and M.A. in Sociology at WMU, is Senior Vice President at MORPACE International, Inc., specializing in research on consumer attitudes and behavior. He currently co-manages the Automative Research Team, the largest practice area within the company, and has significant international automative research experience, including management of a number of ongoing research programs in Latin America for the Ford Motor Company. He has also been instrumental in developing new research programs in the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Ford. Mr. Woods, who has taught courses at both Lawrence Technological University as well as WMU, joined MORPACE as Vice President in March 1996, after twelve years at J. Walter Thompson. In September 1998 Mr. Woods was promoted to Senior Vice President and appointed to the MORPACE Executive committee, and elected to the MORPACE Board of Directors in August 1999.
1999
Robert J. Ackerman received his Ph.D. in sociology from WMU in
1980. Currently Professor of Sociology and Director of the
Mid-Atlantic Addiction Training Institute at Indiana University of
Pennsylvania, he is co-founder of the National Association for
Children of Alcoholics. Dr. Ackerman has served on many advisory
boards and has worked with the National Institute of Mental Health,
National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, and the U.S.
Department of Education. Dr. Ackerman is perhaps best known for
writing the first book in the United States on children of alcoholics
in 1978 while still in his doctoral program. Eleven books, numerous
articles, many television appearances, and countless speaking
engagements later, he has become internationally known for his work
with families and children of all ages. He is the recipient of many
awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from WMU and the 1995
Gooderham Award.
Alumni Presentations
Our alumni are also clearly involved in professional organizations. The following examples were identified from brief scans of the program
Midwest Sociological Society, 2005
“U.S. Churches, Social Justice Issues and Feminist Activism in the 1980’s,” by Megan Mullins.
“Taking Domestic Violence Theory into the Courts”, Ann Goetting
North Central Sociological Association, 2005
“Liberation of Self: Transforming Consciousness” by Beverly Hair and Suzanne Van Weelde
Society for the Study of Social Problems, 2004
“Lifestyles of Activism” by Edie Fisher
26th Annual Spring Honors Reception for Undergraduates
The 26th Annual Spring Undergraduate Honors Reception was held April 6, 2005. The top award winners were:
Presidential Scholar Amanda Rivard
Sociology Scholar Anne Wilson
Criminal Justice Scholar Brent Lovett
Leonard C. Kercher Award Jenna Keedy
Awards were also given for the undergraduate students who received the Arts & Sciences Research & Creative Scholar Awards, Criminal Justice Association Awards, AsSOCiation Undergraduate Sociology Organization Awards, Undergraduate Assistants Awards. In addition, Undergraduate Student Research Assistants for Dr. Susan Caulfield and Dr. Subhash Sonnad were recognized. Alpha Kappa Delta and Alpha Phi Sigma initiated a total of 12 students.
Congratulations to all of these fine students!
Undergraduate Research Awards
In order to increase the opportunities for undergraduates to participate with faculty mentors in professional activities outside the classroom, the College of Arts & Sciences has established a Research and Creative Activities Award program. This program recognizes academic excellence and potential for research and creative activities and provides undergraduate students with opportunities for hands-on research or creative activities experience with faculty from the College.
Christie Fitzgerald, Sociology
Alternatives in Long Term Care.
Faculty mentor: Dr. Victoria Ross
Tracy Hand, Sociology
Statistics: Changing a Necessary Evil Into a
Positive Experience at the University Level
Faculty mentor: Dr. Susan Caulfield
Timothy Bourcier, Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Paul Wienir
Role of Self-Cognitions in Relationship Orientation (Fall 2000)
Shaun Hawkins, Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Richard Spates
Vicarious Traumatization in Child Abuse Counselors (Fall 2000)
Kimberly Rice, Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Douglas Davidson
Feminist Discursive Struggle: Resisting the Hegemonic Structure in the Twentieth Century (Spring &
Summer 2000)
Aishath Shehenaz, Sociology
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Thomas VanValey, Dr. Paul Wiener
Premarital Sexual Standard of Adolescents in Maldives (Fall 2000)
Elizabeth Tregerman, Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Richard Spates
Vicarious Traumatization in Child Abuse Counselors (Fall 2000)
Emily Vermilya, Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Thomas VanValey
WMU Nontraditional Student Survey (Fall 2000)
Carla Sharp, Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Douglas Davidson
An Investigation of Changes in the Quality of Life in a Black Community (Winter 2002)
Laura Geist, Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Susan Caulfield
Analysis of undergraduate attitudes and actions in sociology statistics courses (Winter 2002)
AsSOCiation News
The Sociology Department has an active undergraduate student association; the AsSOCiation. This year, they planned and organized a campus-wide event focusing on sexual assault called Take Back The Night "Decide to Stop Sexual Violence". In conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness week they held a rally against sexual violence, a demonstration march, and a candle light vigil. In previous years, they organized undergraduate research conferences, one dealing with tattoos, another dealing with fear.
Undergraduate Students presenting at Conferences
A group of undergraduates went to the MSS meetings this spring and presented papers. We are also fortunate that several of them have also chosen WMU for their graduate work.
Midwest Sociological Society, 2005
“A Behind the Scenes Look at Classroom Performances: Using Ethnographic Data” by Chiquita Whitfield
“Examining the Effects of the Service World: Retail workers and Self Concept” by Nicole Schumaker
“Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: Feminist Research within Military Culture” by Angela Simon
“Sex Trafficking and Forced Prostitution: An Exploratory Study Examining the Role of the U.S. Military in a Global Crisis” by Angela Simon
“Undergraduate Student Research Roundtable”, Angela Simon
“Effects of Age and Perceived Victimization Risk on Fear of Crime” by Jennifer Booth
Michigan Alcohol and Other Drugs School Survey (MAOD) History and Update
By Jane Spencer
The Michigan Alcohol and Other Drugs School Survey (MAOD) is a research project conducted under the auspices of The Kercher Center for Social Research at Western Michigan University. The purpose of the project is to collect data from 8th, 10th and 12th grade students regarding their attitudes toward and usage of alcohol, tobacco and various drugs and since 1995, safety and violence issues. The survey itself was patterned after the national high school senior substance use survey, Monitoring the Future, carried out by Dr. Lloyd Johnston and his staff at The Institute for Survey Research at the University of Michigan (Dr. Johnston was a consultant during the development of this project). In addition, the MAOD report currently uses the Monitoring The Future’s 12th grade national statistics for comparison purposes.
The MAOD survey was first given during the 1989‑90 school year. A total of 93 school districts were surveyed during the first year, involving more than 41,000 students. Since the 1989‑90 school year, the numbers of districts and students surveyed have ranged as high as 1995‑96, when 137 districts and 68,000 students were surveyed and 1997‑98, when nearly 160 school districts and 74,000 students were surveyed. At the end of the 2003‑2004 academic year, over 86% of Michigan's K‑12 public schools have been surveyed at least once during the span of the project, including over 780,000 students.
The MAOD project recommends to school districts that they complete the MAOD survey every two years. The first year establishes baseline data, and subsequent administrations provide an approximate tracking mechanism following up the same general cohorts of students (since the survey covers 8th, 10th, and 12th graders). This method of survey research provides school districts with a tool for the ongoing evaluation of their drug and alcohol prevention programs, as well as a tool for detecting trends and patterns of substance abuse. Therefore, it also offers districts a way of more accurately targeting future programs.
