Fall/Winter 2015-16
As this issue of Sociology News was being prepared, we were particularly pleased to learn of several major accomplishments having a substantial national impact.
An article by alumnus Aaron McCright (PhD, ’02) and former WSU sociology faculty member Riley Dunlap (1972-2002) was recognized as the eighth-most-cited article published in a sociology journal from 2010 to 2014. We are pleased to include an alumni update from Aaron in this issue of Sociology News.
One of the major social issues facing the United States and many other countries is the widening gap between rich and poor. Alair MacLean, one of our faculty at WSU Vancouver, coedited with David Grusky “Living in a High Inequality Regime” in the most recent issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. The gulf that inequality creates in social structures is an important issue being examined by MacLean and other members of our department.
The United States and other developed countries also are experiencing dramatic changes in gender roles, the formation of families, and related life-course issues. Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson coedited a major new book, Handbook of the Life Course, Volume 2, that includes significant contributions from multiple authors about how these changes continue to reshape people’s lives.
These and other recent achievements are reported in the 2015 Departmental Accomplishments section of this newsletter.
We also recap important departmental events, including this year’s William Julius Wilson Award and lecture and a related talk on climate change by alumna Kari Norgaard (MA, 1994).
In addition, we describe the uniqueness of our two-campus department by highlighting the research of Katrina Leupp and undergraduate work at the Vancouver campus.
As always, please feel free to contact the co-editors with any questions or comments at the email addresses below.
Don Dillman, dillman@wsu.edu
Pierce Greenberg, pierce.greenberg@wsu.edu