OU Sociology Professor Erin Maher was featured as one of several national guest experts for an news article on States with the Most Underprivileged Children. Joining professors from Columbia University, The University of Chicago, and Indiana University, Dr. Maher spoke to what works for improving child well-being
The scholarly analytics company, ScholarGPS, has ranked OU Sociology Professor Meredith Worthen in the top 10 of researchers on Human Sexuality and the top 20 among Social Policy sociologists. In 2024, Dr. Worthen was named a Top Scholar by ScholarGPS with a ranking of #7 in Human Sexuality and #13 in Social Policy.
Congratulations to all the under graduate Sociology Award winners for 2024. The Department of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma presents two awards for academic excellence, two recognizing our graduating seniors, and two for excellence in undergraduate research.
Congratulations to all the graduate Sociology Award winners for 2024. The Department of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma presents two graduate students awards for excellence in research, teaching/TA work, and service to the department as well as several fellowships for summer research.
Congratulations to Matt Bejar, who recently accepted an Assistant Teaching Professor position in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northern Arizona University. Matt will be starting at Northern Arizona University in the Fall of 2024, and will continue to teach and do research in the areas of the family and crime, the science of deviant events, theoretical criminology, neoclassical criminology, and applied criminology. Matt appreciated all that Norman and OU had to offer, but he is excited to experience the nature and community of Northern Arizona.
OU Sociology Assistant Professor Christopher Hill is the 2024 recipient of the Longmire Prize for Teaching in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. This teaching award recognizes faculty who "exhibit a scholarly and thoughtful approach to innovative teaching." Using films as a primary teaching method, Professor Hill practices what has been called "popular criminology," which focuses on the intersection of academic criminology and popular culture.
Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth McElroy who successfully defended her dissertation titled, "The Pleasure Placebo: The Role of Religion and Gender in Sexual Enjoyment." Her committee was Sam Perry (chair), Ann Buetel, Cyrus Schleifer, Meredith Worthen, and Hairong Song (Psychology). Liz has accepted a post-doctorial position at the School of Public Health at the University of Indiana, Bloomington.
Congratulations to Dr. Heather Lepper-Pappan who successfully defended her dissertation titled, “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer (LGBQ) Youth in the Child Welfare System: Hope, Well-Being, and Future Expectations.” Her committee members included Erin Maher (chair), Julie Gerlinger, Trina Hope, and Angela Pharris (Social Work). Heather will continue her new role in sociology as the Project Director for the Parent Child Assistance Program.
Congratulations to Reagan Hunt on successfully defending his MA thesis, entitled “How do you pay for debt without money? Just pay with your health.” Understanding the association between Legal Financial Obligations and Physical Health. Reagan's committee included Trina Hope (Chair), Ann Beutel, and Julie Gerlinger.
Congratulation to DR. Carrie Leslie who has successfully defended her Doctoral Dissertation titled Legacy Industrial Air Pollution and Racial Health Disparities: Identifying Barriers for Environmental Health Equity Through Policy Development and Community-Engaged Research. Her committee members included Drs. Tom Burns (chair), Annabel Ipsen, Ian Carrillo, Jennifer Koch (Dept. of Geography), and Hongwan Li (OU's Hudson College of Public Health).
Congratulations to Dr. Matt Loflin who successfully defended his dissertation titled, ""A Punishment Beyond Sentencing: Incarceration's Impact on Overall Quality of Health." His committee included Loretta Bass (chair), John Carl, Mitch Peck, and Darren Purcell (Geography).
Congratulations to Taylor Gamble who successfully defended his thesis entitled, "Cloudy with a Chance of Conservation: How Perception Shapes Conservation Behavior." His committee included Julie Gerlinger, Chris Garneau (Chari) , and Tom Burns.
Congratulations to Nate McKnight who successfully defended his M.A. thesis, "Freedom and Restraint: A Self-Control Perspective on Political Ideology." His committee included Dr. Trina Hope (Chair), Dr. Julie Gerlinger and Dr. Thomas Burns. Nate has accepted a full time position at the University of Oklahoma, within it's academic advising unit.
Congratulations to OU Sociology's Dr. Sam Perry who was named the Viersen Family Foundation Presidential Professor. The Presidential Professorships were established to recognize those faculty members who excel in all of their professional activities and who relate those activities to the students they teach and mentor. The Professorship is awarded for a four-year term and includes bonus of $40,000. In addition, Sam will retain the Presidential Professor title permanently. Dr. Perry recieved this award due to his work on Religion, Politics, and Public Sociology.
OU Research team, headed by Sociology's Dr. Erin Maher, was awarded $801,745 from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services in partnership with the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness. Drs. Maher , along with co-PIs David McLeod (Social Work), and Diane Horm (Early Childhood Education Institute), were awarded a two-year contract to evaluate the strategies within a federal grant of 12 million dollars to the state of Oklahoma—the Preschool Development Renewal Grant. This builds on the contributions of Drs. Maher and Horm who previously worked with the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness on the Preschool Development Planning Grant. The team will conduct a multi-component evaluation of the implementation of grant activities to improve access to early childhood education in Oklahoma.
Congratulations to OU Sociology PhD Candidate Jessie Laljer, who was awarded the Bullard Dissertation Completion Fellowship for their dissertation titled: “There is more to it than Sexual Orientation: Evidence that Romantic Interest Outweighs Sexuality for Asexual-Spectrum Individuals and an Argument on the Position of Asexuality in the Broader LGBTQ+ Spectrum.” Their work focuses on novel areas of LGBTQIA+ research through interviews with individuals under the asexual umbrella and who identify with differing levels of romantic interest. Laljer has received mentorship from Sociology Professor's Dr. Meredith Worthen, Dr. Trina Hope, and Dr. Ann Beutel for this research.
OU Sociology PhD Student, Emily Bonner’s research on food security proved influential in the passage of Bill 1955, which eliminated state sales tax on groceries in Oklahoma. Emily’s research used novel US Census Bureau data to track food security during the pandemic. Analyzing 36 months of data, she found that citizens living in states with grocery taxes faced higher probabilities of food insecurity compared to those in states without such taxes. This highlights the regressive nature of grocery taxes, which disproportionately affects those in the lowest income brackets. This project became Emily’s MA Thesis research and she has presented these findings widely at the local and national levels.
Congratulations to OU Sociology PhD student Ami Frost who won first place in the 2024 campus-wide Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. The 3MT challenges graduate students to explain their research to a general audience using one static slide in less than three minutes. Ami won for her research, entitled “Different by Degrees: Relationship Quality Differences by Level of Education.” She recieved mentorship on this project from Drs. Ann Beutel, Dan Wang, and Cyrus Schleifer as well as feedback and support from her fellow sociology graduate students, the wider sociology faculty, and some of her other 3MT competitors Sociology PhD canidate Rin Ferraro and PhD student Wendy Dedmond
