Publications, Awards, and Other Accomplishments

Jon is standing next to a screen showing one of his powerpoint slides. Jon is standing behind a podium and mid-speech with his hands raised. On the screen is an image of a butterfly on a flower with the text, "what does the butterfly mean to you?"
Jon Dahlem presenting at the 2023 Pacific Sociological Association Annual Conference in Seattle.

For this edition, we highlight the release of alumnus Jon Dahlem’s (PhD 2020) book, The Good, Green Gold of Spring: A Conservation Sociology of the Island Marble Butterfly. Jon is currently an assistant professor and program director of sociology at Bellevue University in Nebraska. He specializes in environmental sociology and the sociologies of biodiversity loss and species conservation.

If you graduated with a degree from the WSU Department of Sociology and have an accomplishment that relates to the education you received from the department that you would like to share in the newsletter, please send us an email to sociology.news@wsu.edu.

Faculty names are bolded; current graduate student names are bolded and followed by an asterisk (*); current undergraduate student names are bolded and followed by a plus symbol (+).

Congratulations to:

Marisa Cervantes* successfully defended her dissertation, Pushing Back and Moving Forward: A Qualitative Examination of Latinx Young Adults Navigating Higher Education in an Anti-Immigrant Climate.

Sarah Deming* successfully defended her dissertation, Antecedents of the Motherhood Penalty: A Qualitative Exploration of Expectant Mothers’ Work-Related Preferences and Plans Across Divergent Socioeconomic Contexts.

Sarah Deming* was awarded the WSU Association for Faculty Women’s Harriet B. Rigas Award presented to two “outstanding doctoral and professional students” university-wide.

Justin Denney was promoted to professor, effective August 2023. 

Ish Green* successfully defended their MA thesis, “The Road to EcoFascism: How Trust and Climate Concern Affect Support for EcoFascist Ideology.”

Ish is standing behind a podium giving their presentation to the audience. On the left side of the image is a screen including the presentation title and an image of a forest fire,
Graduate student Ish Green presenting at the Pacific Sociological Association Annual Conference in Seattle.

Monica Johnson was promoted to Regents Professor, effective August 2023. 

Georgia Plotkin* successfully defended her MA thesis, “Exploring Social Norms in a Pandemic Setting: Stockpiling and Normative Expectations.”

Kyle Rakowski* accepted a tenure track job as assistant professor in the Department of Sociology & Human Services at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

Sadie Ridgeway* successfully defended her dissertation, The Weight of Stigma: Untangling the Links Between Body Size, Discrimination, and Health.

Sadie Ridgeway* accepted a tenure track job as assistant professor of sociology at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland.

Jenn Sherman’s new book, Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream, received the CHOICE Award for Outstanding Academic Title in 2022.

Sarah Whitley was promoted to associate professor, career track, effective August 2023. 

Publications:

Mariana Amorim and Anna Zamora-Kapoor, with colleagues Erica Hobby, Katherine Perham-Hester and Sarah Cowan, authored “The heterogeneous associations of universal cash-payouts with breastfeeding initiation and continuation,” accepted for publication in Social Science & Medicine – Population Health.

Justin Denney and Anna Zamora-Kapoor, with Devon Hansen (WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center) and Paul Whitney (WSU psychology), authored “Race/Ethnicity, Sleep Duration, and Mortality Risk in the United States,” accepted for publication in Social Science & Medicine – Population Health.

Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson and Sadie Ridgeway* authored “Becoming Independent and Responsible Adults: Does Parental Financial Help Interfere?,” accepted for publication in Journal of Family Issues.

The students are standing side-by-side and smiling towards the camera. Behind them is a crimson red wall.
Graduate students Whitney Shervey, Christian Maynard, and Jair Johnson at a department coffee hour.

Christian Maynard* and Jennifer Schwartz authored “Cannabis vaping among high school seniors in adult-use, medical, and prohibited legal contexts,” accepted for publication in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports 

Steven Mejia authored “Global Inequities in the Prevalence of Undernourishment,” accepted for publication in Social Science Quarterly. 

Steven Mejia authored “Explaining Global Inequities in Measles Vaccination Rates: A Cross-National Analysis, 1990-2019,” accepted for publication in Comparative Sociology.

Sadie Ridgeway* and Justin T. Denny coauthored “A Comprehensive Examination of Discrimination and the Impact on Health in Young Adults,” accepted for publication in Social Science & Medicine.

Jennifer Sherman and Jennifer Randles coauthored “Diaper Despair and Deflecting Inequalities” in Contexts.

Presentations:

Ish Green* and Dylan Bugden presented “The Road to Eco-Authoritarianism: How Political Trust Interacts with Climate Change Concerns” at the 2023 Pacific Sociological Association Annual Conference in Seattle.

Abbey Hammell (University of Minnesota), Kenneth Wallen (University of Idaho), Katherine Dentzman (Iowa State University) and Don Dillman, prepared a poster, “Considering Survey Frequency and Typology in the Modern Survey Landscape,” for the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research Nov 18-10, 2022, in Chicago.

Sydney, Kyle, and Caleb are standing and smiling towards the camera.
Sociology office staff Sydney Davies and graduate students Kyle Rakowski and Caleb Cooley.

Shekinah Hoffman presented “An Exploration of Workplace Discrimination and Women’s Career Decisions During the COVID-19 Era” at the 2023 WSU Academic Showcase.

Sadie Ridgeway presented a virtual talk, “Weight Discrimination and Mental Health: Protective and Exacerbating Social Factors,” for the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Seminar Series at the University of Michigan. 

Sadie Ridgeway* presented “Weight Discrimination and Mental Health: Protective and Exacerbating Social Factors” at the 2023 Pacific Sociological Association Annual Conference in Seattle.

Jasmine Willis+ presented “Attitudes about Education Before and Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic” at the 2023 WSU Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities.

Xinye Wu* presented “Remigrant Children in Contemporary China: Estimating the Impact of Return Migration on Children’s Educational Aspirations and Educational Investment” at the 2023 Pacific Sociological Association Annual Conference in Seattle.

Other Accomplishments:

Anna Zamora-Kapoor was interviewed and quoted in the article: “Washington moving into uncharted territory with insurance available to all, regardless of immigration status,” by the Lewiston Tribune.

An article published over a decade ago by WSU sociologists Gregory Hooks, Clayton Mosher, Shaun Genter (MA, 2008), Thomas Rotolo, and Linda Labao (Ohio State) was referenced in a New York Times opinion piece.

Spring 2023 Department Annual Awards:

Aynur Altom+ was awarded the Herbert and Mary Neil Scholarship.

Mariana Amorim was awarded the Louis N. Gray Graduate Student Advocate Award.

Nick Baldwin+ was awarded the Jeanne Jewett Scholarship.

Sam Castonguay* was awarded the Kelma H. and James F. Short, Jr. Endowed Fund, the Graduate Student Fellowship, and the CAS Graduate Research Award.

Tinashe Chirume* was awarded the Fred R. Yoder Graduate Fellowship and the Gordon D. and Izola P. Morgan Graduate Fellowship.

Kacey Clark* was awarded the CAS Graduate Research Award.

Azdren Coma* was awarded Ann Madsen Depew Memorial Fund, the Fred R. Yoder Graduate Fellowship, and the Don Dillman Fellowship.

Sarah Deming* was awarded the Joe DeMartini Graduate Teaching Fellowship and the Association for Faculty Women’s Harriet B. Rigas Award.

Jayden is pictured standing and smiling towards the camera. She is holding her certificate to the left side of her body.
Undergraduate student Jayden Dizard holding her award certificate.

Emma Deneau* was awarded the Karen Jennison & Kenneth Johnson Graduate Student Travel Award.

Jayden Dizard+ was awarded the Sociology Excellence Fund: Exceptional Senior Award.

Thomas Familia* was awarded the Fred R. Yoder Graduate Fellowship.

Brynja Feroy+ was awarded the Sociology Excellence Fund: Outstanding Senior Award.

Ish Green* was awarded the Ann Madsen Depew Memorial Fund.

Shekinah Hoffman* was awarded the Kelma H. and James F. Short, Jr. Endowed Fund and the Arnold and Julia Greenwell Memorial Scholarship for Social Sciences and Humanities from the Graduate School.

Jair Johnson* was awarded the Jeanne Jewett Scholarship.

Ella King was awarded the Paul and Bessie Landis Scholarship and the Norman and Linda Baer Sociology Scholarship.

Kate Lachica+ was awarded the Marjorie Talbott Tripp Scholarship Fund.

Cassandra Leonard* was awarded the Fred R. Yoder Graduate Fellowship. 

Christian Maynard* was awarded the Ann Madsen Depew Memorial Fund.

Christie Miksys* was awarded the Herbert and Mary Neil Scholarship.

Emily Nate+ was awarded the Sociology Excellence Fund: Outstanding Senior Award.

Skye Oskooie+ was awarded the Herbert and Mary Neil Scholarship and the Roberta Cline Frasier Anderson Scholarship.

Erika Serrano+ was awarded the Paul and Bessie Landis Scholarship.

Whitney Shervey* was awarded the Fred R. Yoder Graduate Fellowship.

Two rows of undergraduate and graduate students are smiling towards the camera. A few students are holding their award certificates in front of them.
Some of the Spring 2023 Department awardees.

Namrata Ray* was awarded the Jeanne Jewett Scholarship.

Sadie Ridgeway* was awarded the Joe DeMartini Graduate Teaching Fellowship.

Michelle Weston* was awarded the Karen Jennison & Kenneth Johnson Graduate Student Travel Award and the John Wardell Alumni Endowed Scholarship.

Jasmine Willis+ was awarded the Herbert and Mary Neil Scholarship and the Roberta Cline Frasier Anderson Scholarship.

Xinye Wu* was awarded the Fred R. Yoder Graduate Fellowship and the CAS Graduate Research Award.