Spring/Summer 2016

Welcome to the Spring/Summer 2016 issue of Sociology News!

In this issue, we recap an exciting spring and summer for our students, faculty, and alumni. The annual department banquet in April was a rousing success—with more than $40,000 awarded to our undergraduate and graduate students to support their studies.

A productive summer came to a close in August, when 25 graduate students and faculty made the trip to Seattle to participate in the American Sociological Association and related meetings. Their contributions to those and other meetings are captured in the newsletter section on summer activities.

We are pleased to include an interview with Rik Scare (PhD, ’95) who was a featured speaker at the “Environmental and Climate Justice Practices” symposium on the WSU Vancouver campus in April. He shared with us the experience of writing his new book, “Creating Sustainable Communities,” and memories of his atypical graduate student experience at WSU. We also caught up with three other alums—Jessica Crowe, Angela Mertig, and Maria Monserud—who described their post-PhD career-building experiences.

Also described in this issue is a new venture between Sociology and the Social Economic Sciences Research Center that combines providing advance clinical experience in translating academic learnings with providing practical advice to faculty, staff, and students, who are in the process of designing their own surveys.

Nine new graduate students have joined the department this fall, coming to WSU from different colleges and universities across the United States as well as China. We look forward to including more about them and their interests ranging, from gender and health to environment and criminology issues.

Please contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns!

Don Dillman, dillman@wsu.edu

Pierce Greenberg, pierce.greenberg@wsu.edu