Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson to Chair Sociology Department

Professor Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson will be the next Chair of the WSU Department of Sociology, beginning her appointment in fall 2017.

Johnson joined the department as an assistant professor in 2002, and has earned numerous awards for both teaching and research during her time in Pullman. She was an Honors College Distinguished Professor 2014-2016, and recently became an Honors College Faculty Fellow. Last fall, she was elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences.

Johnson’s work has reshaped how becoming an adult in the United States is understood. This research has highlighted some of the enormous changes that have happened with regard to when and how young people take on adult roles in life. Through her research and teaching she has changed our scientific understanding of the opportunities and barriers people face during the transition towards adulthood and later in life. She has authored articles in top journals, such as American Journal of Sociology, Annual Review of Sociology, Social Forces, and Social Problems, and recently co-edited Handbook of the Life Course, Volume 2.

Dr. Johnson will succeed Lisa McIntyre, who will complete her second four-year term as chair this summer.