Welcome to the Sociology News

Fall 2023 Issue

Welcome to Sociology News!

Along with the usual assortment of articles, the fall 2023 newsletter includes links to the first events in the Department of Sociology’s 100-year celebration, a retrospective by Don Dillman as he prepares to retire, and recognition of many publications and achievements by our community of scholars.

We are also thrilled to introduce two new faculty members and the newest cohort of graduate students.

I would also like to introduce our new graduate student co-editor for Sociology News: Shekinah Hoffman (pronounced shu-con-uh). She is a PhD candidate with research interests in gender, labor market inequality, workplace discrimination and work/organizations, with a focus on casino gaming and hospitality industries. Shekinah brings a wealth of experience with her bachelor’s in communications and marketing from Colorado State University and nearly a decade working in the nonprofit sector before joining the graduate program in sociology at WSU.

Our previous graduate student co-editor, Sadie Ridgeway, graduated in May! She completed her dissertation on weight stigma and well-being in youth, under the direction of Professor Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson. Congratulations, Dr. Ridgeway! 

Sadie started her tenure as the graduate student co-editor under less-than-ideal circumstances in the fall 2020 when the University moved to remote instruction due to the pandemic. With no on-campus events or department activities, it was a challenge to generate interesting content for a newsletter. These were difficult times that were surrounded in uncertainty.  Additionally, I was still learning the ropes as a relatively new newsletter editor.

Fortunately, Sadie provided unwavering assistance and support and offered many great ideas for content. I will greatly miss Sadie’s contributions, but am thrilled she has moved on to an outstanding academic position as a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Goucher University in Baltimore, MD.

We wish Sadie the best of luck. I look forward to interviewing her as an “accomplished alum” in the future. We are grateful for her assistance and service to the department!

Thank you for your continued support of and connection with the Department of Sociology at WSU. We hope you enjoy the newsletter and wish you a very happy holiday season and a great new year!

Your editors,

Thomas Rotolo (rotolo@wsu.edu)

Shekinah Hoffman (shekinah.hoffman@wsu.edu)

Tom Rotolo and Shekinah Hoffman with Wilson-Short Hall in the background.

Welcome new co-editor, Shekinah Hoffman!

Tom Rotolo and Shekinah Hoffman with Wilson-Short Hall in the background.

In This Issue

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