WSU Sociology Celebrates 100 Years!

This semester, the Department of Sociology kicked off our Centennial Celebration, honoring the department’s 100-year anniversary, with two events.

In late September, the department hosted a fireside chat with the authors of the new book We Few, We Academic Sisters: How We Persevered and Excelled in Higher Education: former WSU Sociology faculty members Lois B. DeFleur, Sandra Ball-Rokeach, and Marilyn Ihinger-Tallman, and editor of the book, former WSU communications faculty member Betty Houchin Winfield.

The authors discussed their trailblazing careers at WSU as some of the first women faculty members in the sociology department. DeFleur, Ball-Rokeach, and Ihinger-Tallman joined WSU in the late 1960’s and 1970s when fewer than 1% of women completed advanced degrees in the United States. Their inspiring narratives highlight the importance of community and offer meaningful guidance to current WSU faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students. Watch their fireside chat.

In October, we celebrated Don Dillman’s far-reaching contributions to the department and discipline of sociology. In his talk, “The First Hundred Years of Sociology at WSU and Sociology’s Future at WSU,” Don discussed the history of our department and previewed what is yet to come. Watch Don’s talk.

Learn more about the history of our department and the events and activities taking place as part of our Centennial Celebration at our Centennial Celebration webpage.