Department of Sociology

Alumni

The Department of Sociology Fall 2007 Newsletter

Greetings from the Chair

Another academic year has gotten off to a great start here in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin! I am especially pleased to welcome our two new faculty members: Dr Simone Browne (PhD, University of Toronto) and Dr Keith Robinson (PhD, University of Michigan). Simone will be teaching and conducting research on the topics of race, gender, and migration, with a particular focus on international migration at the US-Canada Border. Keith will be teaching and conducting research on the topics of education, race, and research methods, with a particular focus on achievement gaps across population groups. It is a pleasure to have both of them on board!

Simone Browne

Keith Robinson

It is also great to welcome our 20 new graduate students to the program this fall, who come from a number of different geographic locations both around the US and around the world. Their new energy and ideas have already begun to make a mark. It is also a pleasure to note that we had 19 students receive their PhD's over the last year; thus, our 'period-based' graduation rate was 95%. We have nearly as many graduate students slated to finish their degrees this year as well, with many of them currently on the academic job market.

As always, it is the faculty who hold the key to making the place as good as it is. Over the last year, the departmental faculty have continued to publish in leading journals and scholarly presses in the field, bring in money to support their research and training programs, teach at the highest level, and perform service at the national, state, community, and university levels. It truly is a special group of people who have, at heart, the best interests of our students and the field of sociology. Please take a few minutes to browse through our website and catch up on the many accomplishments, new projects, and courses of our faculty.

I wish you all the best for a productive and healthy year!

Robert Hummer
Chair and Professor of Sociology

Faculty News and Research

Professor Cynthia Buckley awarded prestigious fellowship

Dr Cindy Buckley has received a Teaching Fellowship from the Social Science Research Council for her undergraduate course, 'Introduction to Central Asian Societies' (Sociology 308). This course seeks to provide an internationalized approach to introductory sociology, encouraging freshmen to consider additional coursework in the languages, cultures and history of Central Asia. Funds from the fellowship will be used for course development, with resulting materials distributed through the SSRC Eurasia Program. Professor Buckley will be offering the course in Fall of 2008.

Population Research Center grant renewed

The Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) undertook to examine its 'Population Research Infrastructure Program' which is the set of R24 grants that provides the key infrastructure support for the Population Research Center at the University of Texas. The PRC's current R24 began July 1, 2007, and will run through June 30, 2011; the center will re-apply in fall 2010. The final report concludes with a number of positives about the overall R24 program, and with an enthusiastic recommendation to continue the program for another five years (2012-2016).

Professor Ronald Angel offered prestigious appointment at NCHS

Ronald Angel, Professor of Sociology and PRC Faculty Research Associate, has been invited to serve on the Board of the Scientific Counselors at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Board of Scientific Counselors at NCHS provide advice and make recommendations regarding the scientific and technical program goals and objectives, strategies, and priorities of NCHS to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC director, and the NCHS Director. Congratulations to Professor Angel for this prestigious appointment!

Dr Robert Crosnoe's research shows obese girls less likely to attend college

Obese girls are half as likely to attend college as non-obese girls, according to a new study from Dr Robert Crosnoe. The study also shows obese girls are even less likely to enter college if they attend a high school where obesity is relatively uncommon. The findings appear in the July issue of the journal Sociology of Education. The study tracked nearly 11,000 American adolescents, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. To read more, go to: www.utexas.edu/opa/news/2007/07/sociology23.html.

Student News, Awards, and Placements

Congratulations to our Spring 2007 graduates: Amy Burdette (PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow/University of North Carolina), Gang-Hua Fan (PhD), Tai-Hsi Daisy Fan (PhD), Amy Langenkamp (PhD, Lecturer/University of Texas), Benjamin Nieto Andrade (PhD), Jennifer Trinitapoli (PhD, Assistant Professor/Arizona State University), Roberta Villalon (PhD, Assistant Professor/St John's University), Hae-Bong Woo (PhD), and Wei Zhang (PhD, Lecturer/University of Hawaii)
Chris Pieper, Wei Zhang and Michael Roemer each received the Jack Shand Research Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. For Pieper, this award will contribute to his research on shifting patterns of religious activism in the 20th century. Zhang will use the award to conduct field research in China, interviewing very old persons about their religious and spiritual practices, which, according to survey data presented in her dissertation, appear to yield important mental and physical health benefits. Roemer, who has also received the Constant Jacquet Award from the Religious Research Association as well as a Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation, will use these to fund his dissertation research in Japan over the summer.
The Department of Sociology offers a big congratulations to Kim Huyser, who received the American Sociological Association 2007-8 Minority Fellowship, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The award is renewable for three years. Huyser's research interests include race and ethnicity, American Indians and religion.
Jennifer Barrett received the University Co-Op/George H Mitchell Excellence in Graduate Research Award. The $4,000 award will support her dissertation research, 'Doctors, Clerics, Healers and Neighbors: Religious influences on Maternal and Child Heath in Uzbekistan'. She is working with Dr Cynthia Buckley, her dissertation supervisor.
Rita Stephan was awarded one of the most prestigious dissertation fellowships, from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in the amount of $20,000, and the PEO International Scholar Award, in the amount of $10,000. Go, Rita!
Finally, another hearty congratulations goes out to: Sara Yeatman who received the very prestigious William H Hildebrand Endowed Graduate Fellowship for 2007-8 for $19,000 (plus benefits); Jenny Pearson who was recognized with a $6,000 Graduate School Fellowship (and tuition benefits) for 2007-8; Danielle Dirks who was awarded a Continuing Bruton fellowship of $1,000 (and tuition benefits) for 2007-8; and Isao Takei, for receiving a $1,000 fellowship from the East Asian Studies Program.

Special Feature

Norval Glenn, Ashbel Smith Professor of Sociology here at the University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded the Warren E Miller Award for Meritorious Service to the Social Sciences. Presented annually by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan, this award is in memory of Warren E Miller's lifetime of contributions to the social sciences. Glenn joins an extremely distinguished list of past winners of this award, including Murray Aborn, Allan Bogue, Sue Dodd, James Davis, James Dowdy, Heinz Eulau, Sidney Verba, Philip Converse, Jerry Clubb, and Hal Winsborough.

Professor Norval Glenn

Congratulations to Dr Glenn for his outstanding achievement!

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