This listing includes all recipients of the Ph.D. in Sociology from University of Arizona since 2007. When available, the current job placement is indicated, as well as the first position post-Ph.D. (if different from current job). Please submit corrections or updates to Raquel Fareio, Manager of Administration.
Jina Lee (Spring 2024)
Dissertation Title: “Gender Dynamics and Novelty Claims in Science: Three Essays on Impact, Uncertainty, and Retraction.”
Dissertation Chair: Erin Leahey
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Zhuofan Li (Summer 2024)
Dissertation Title:
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
Current position: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech.
Peter Ore (Summer 2023)
Dissertation Title: “A Sociology of Airborne Contamination in the United States”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
Current Position: tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Queens College, City University of New York
Nelson Englert-Yang (Summer 2023)
Dissertation Title: “Political Climates for Innovation Norms”
Dissertation Chair: Kathleen Schwartzman/Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current Position: Industry Analyst, ABI Research
Eunsung Yoon (Summer 2023)
Dissertation Title: “The Influence of Competitors on Decision Making: Comparative Studies of Reference Groups”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger/Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current Position: postdoctoral research associate at the Eviction Lab at Princeton
Beksahn Jang (Spring 2023)
Dissertation Title: “Political Incorporation for the New Immigrants and the Asian Puzzle”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current Position: Qualitative and Multi-Method Research Associate at Strength in Numbers Consulting Group
Trey Green (Summer 2022)
Dissertation Title: “Understanding the Research-Practice Gap in Social Movements and Activism.”
Dissertation Chair: Erin Leahey
Current Position: Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University.
Hannah Andrews (Summer 2022)
Dissertation Title: “The Role of Alternative Health Lifestyles in the Socioeconomic Status-Health Relationship: Measurement, Mediation, and Moderation.”
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth
Current Position: Research and Planning Analyst, Reedley College.
Kelsey Gonzalez (Spring 2022)
Dissertation Title: “Information-Seeking, Online Search Tools, and the Formation of New Norms in Health Behaviors.”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
Current Position: Senior Data Scientist, Chief Analytics Office at IBM.
Morgan Johnstonbaugh (Spring 2022)
Dissertation Title: “Sexual Trophy, Revenge Porn, or Just a Prank? An Examination of Gendered Sexting Practices in Seven U.S. Universities.”
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth
Current Position: User Experience Researcher, Google.
Alexander B. Kinney (Summer 2022)
Dissertation Title: “The Green Rush: Sociolegal Change and Contested Legitimacy in the U.S Cannabis Industry.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University.
Liwen Zeng (Summer 2022)
Dissertation Title: “Sojourning Mentality, Acculturation, Acculturative Stress, and Mental Health Among Chinese International Students in the U.S.”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Management and Policy at East Tennessee State University
Julia Smith (Summer 2022)
Dissertation Title: "Network Learning, Trust, and Effectiveness in Collaborative Governance Networks: A Comparative Case Study of Social Impact Bonds”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
Hannah Andrews (Summer 2022)
Dissertation Title: "The Role of Alternative Health Lifestyles in the Socioeconomic Status-Health Relationship: Measurement, Mediation, and Moderation”
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth
Current Position: Post-Doc with the School of Sociology at the University of Arizona
Erin Heinz (Summer 2022)
Dissertation Title: "The Role of Alternative Health Lifestyles in the Socioeconomic Status-Health Relationship: Measurement, Mediation, and Moderation”
Dissertation Chair: Brian Mayer
Current Position: Post-Doc with the School of Sociology at the University of Arizona
Jacqueline Joslyn (Spring 2021)
Dissertation Title: “Disjointed Fluidity: A Proposition for Conceptualizing and Modeling Relational Processes.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz and Robin Stryker
Current Position: Research Manager, YouGov, remote- headquartered in London, England.
Sabrina Nardin (Summer 2021)
Dissertation Title: “How States Remember their Past: Conflicting Representations of Political Violence in Italy, 1969 and After.
Dissertation Chairs: Ronald Breiger
Current Position: Assistant Instructional Professor, Master of Arts Program in Computational Social Science, University of Chicago
Sosuke Okada (Fall 2020)
Dissertation Title: “The Model of Cultural Signaling Based on Intrinsic Benefits.”
Dissertation Chairs: Joseph Galaskiewickz
Current Position: Research Associate, The University of Arizona
Darla Still (Fall 2020)
Dissertation Title: “Suffering Alone Together: An Analysis of Anonymity, Suicide Discourse, and Social Support in an Online Community.”
Dissertation Chairs: Ronald Breiger
Current Position: Associate Product Researcher on Teams, Stack Overflow (Stack Exchange, Inc), remote- headquartered in New York, NY.
Yi Zhao (Summer 2021)
Dissertation Title: “Where to Invest? The Influence of Local Communities on Capital Allocation in the Emerging Industry of Impact Investing
Dissertation Chairs: Joseph Galaskiewicz
First Position: Associate Director of Research for the Civic Life of Cities Lab of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), Stanford University
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Lecturer, Centre for Social Impact, Business School, University of New South Wales.
Eric T. Bjorklund (Spring 2020)
Dissertation Title: “¿Up Against A Wall? Economic Insecurity and the White Working-Class in Contemporary America. ”
Dissertation Chairs: Joseph Galaskiewicz and Lane Kenworthy
Current Position: Lecturer of Sociology, School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University
Amelia Blume (Summer 2020)
Dissertation Title: “New Media Engines of Global Pharmaceuticalization: An Analysis of Top-Grossing Pharmaceutical Corporations.”
Dissertation Chair: Terrence Hill
Current Position: Business Analyst on the Strategy & Innovation Team, Northwest Farm Credit Services, Spokane, WA.
Krista Frederico (Spring 2020)
Dissertation Title: “She Works Hard for No Money: Understanding Women's Participation in Multi-level Marketing Organizations.”
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth
Current Position: Senior Associate, Women and the Future of Work Division, Catalyst, Inc., remote - headquartered in New York, NY.
Justin Knoll (Summer 2020)
Dissertation Title: “Social Capital and Turnout in Mayoral Elections in American Cities 2006-2017.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz and Robin Stryker
Current Position: Senior Statistical Analyst, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Steven "Buddy" Lizzol (Spring 2020)
Dissertation Title: “Violence in Areas of Limited Statehood: How Perceptions of Legitimacy Influence Political Stability.”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
Current Position: Chief Analyst, Plans, Programs, and Analyses Division for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe & Air Forces Africa Major Command, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear (Spring 2020)
Dissertation Title: “Remaking Collective Identities: Statistical Statecraft, Indigenous Erasure, and Tribal Citizenship.”
Dissertation Chair: Steven Cornell and Erin Leahey
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology with an affiliation in American Indian Studies, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Hyungjun Suh (Spring 2020)
Dissertation Title: “Consequences of Housing Status Across Various Housing Regimes.”
Dissertation Chair: Jane Zavisca
Current Position: Assistant Professor, School of Sociology, National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)
Attila Varga (Spring 2020)
Dissertation Title: “Temporal Evolution of Scholarly Communication.”
Dissertation Chairs: Ronald Breiger and Erin Leahey
Current Position: Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Informatics at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Indiana University.
Yongjun "Josh" Zhang (Spring 2020)
Dissertation Title: “The Corporate Political Transparency and Accountability Movement in the United States.”
Dissertation Chairs: Jennifer Earl and Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, SUNY Stonybrook
Angela Addae (Summer 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Saving Black Portland: Organizational Roles in Preserving a Disintegrating Community.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Oregon School of Law
Eliza Benites-Gambirazio (Spring 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Working as a Real Estate Agent: Dispositions, Matching & the Production of Market Inequalities.”
Dissertation Chair: Jane Zavisca
First Position: Post-Doctoral, WIsDHoM (Wealth Inequalities and the Dynamics of Housing Markets), hosted by the Centre Max Weber (Sociology) CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research), the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) and the Université Lyon 2
Current Position: Associate Professor, School of Sociology and Political Sciences in Paris-Saclay Université
Hannah Clarke (Spring 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Going Under to Get Ahead: Paying for College in an Age of Uncertainty.”
Dissertation Chair: Brian Mayer
Current Position: Senior Associate, Student Loan Research, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Andrew Davis (Summer 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Structuring Conflict: Network Isolation and Embeddedness in the Global System”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
Current Position: Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University
Michael Gibson-Light (Spring 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Capital & Punishment: How Prison Labor Systems Reproduce Inequality.”
Dissertation Chair: Jeffrey Sallaz
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Denver
Kate Gunby (Spring 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Constitutionally Guaranteed Economic and Social Rights Realization in South Africa.”
Dissertation Chair: Robin Stryker
Current Position: Associate Research Director, PRR, Inc.
Meltem Odabas (Summer 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Online Communication Platform as Cultural Field.”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
First position: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Computational Social Science, Indiana University-Bloomington
Current position: Computational Social Scientist, Data Labs at Pew Research Center, Washington D.C.
Kyle Puetz (Summer 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Measuring Cultural Alignment: Three Analyses of Surveys as Cultural Affiliation Networks.”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger and Brian Mayer
Current Position: Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia
Jessica Pfaffendorf (Summer 2019)
Dissertation Title: “The Double Disadvantage: A Theory of Status-Stigma Intensification and Moral Expectations.”
Dissertation Chair: Robin Stryker
Current Position: Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University
Misty Ring-Ramirez (Summer 2019)
Dissertation Title: “An Interorganizational Network Analysis of the Social Movement Sector in New York, 1960-1995.”
Dissertation Chairs: Jennifer Earl and Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Austin Peay State University
Amanda M. Schutz (Summer 2019)
Dissertation Title: “Congregation Among the Least Religious: The Process and Meaning of Organizing Around Nonbelief.”
Dissertation Chair: Jane Zavisca
Current Position: Research Area Specialist, Pulmonary & Critical Care, University of Michigan Medical School
Kendra Thompson-Dyck (Fall 2018)
Dissertation Title: “Revisiting the Neighborhood: A Spatial Analysis of Community Organizations and Juvenile Recidivism in the Urban Southwest.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current Position: Senior Analyst in the Assessment, Research and Grant Development Department, University of Arizona
Jurgita Abromaviciute (Summer 2018)
Dissertation Title: “Single Parents at Work: The Effects of the Intersection of Gender, Parental Status, and Marital Status on Workplace Outcomes.”
Dissertation Chair: Erin Leahey
First position: Limited-Term Assistant Professor, Georgia Southern
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, California State University, San Bernardino
David J. McBee (Summer 2018)
Dissertation Title: “The Research Problem of Research Obstacles”
Dissertation Chair: Erin Leahey
First Position: Statistical Analyst at the Leonard Davis Institute at the University of Pennsylvania
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina
Simone Rambotti (Summer 2018)
Dissertation Title: "How Inequality Affects Health: Reconciling Evidence from Cross-sectional, Relational, and Longitudinal Analyses"
Dissertation Chairs: Ronald Breiger and Terrence Hill
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Loyola University New Orleans
Heidi Reynolds-Stenson (Summer 2018)
Dissertation Title: “Building a Wall of Resistance: Mobilization in the Anti-Terror Age.”
Dissertation Chair: Jennifer Earl
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Ricardo Rivas (Summer 2018)
Dissertation Title: "Environmental Governance and Globalization: Farmed Salmon Industry in Chile"
Dissertation Chair: Kathleen Schwartzman
Current Position: Post-Doctoral Researcher, Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES) and The Research Center for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (CIGIDEN) in Santiago, Chile.
Luis Vila-Henninger (Summer 2017)
Dissertation Title: “Direct Democracy in America: How Voters Reason About Economic Policy.”
Dissertation Chairs: Jane Zavisca and Jeffrey Sallaz
Current Position: Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), Institut de Sciences Politiques Louvain-Europe
Nadina Anderson (Summer 2017)
Dissertation Title: "Finding Money: Gender, Money, and Marketization in Ukraine"
Dissertation Chair: Jane Zavisca
First position: Post-Doctoral Fellow, The Army Research Institute, Fort Belvoir, VA
Current position: Lead Scientist, Booz Allen Hamilton
Xochitl Renee Motaback (Summer 2017)
Dissertation Title: "Expertly Framed: How Science and Evidence Came to Dominate the Sex Ed Debate"
Dissertation Chair: Erin Leahey
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Hawaii - West Oa'hu
Kate Freeman Anderson (Summer 2016)
Dissertation Title: "Residential Segregation and Health Outcomes: The Role of Health-Promoting Community Organizations in Urban Neighborhoods"
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Houston
John "Taylor" Danielson (Spring 2016)
Dissertation Title: “Migration, Nationalism, and the Restructuring of the Welfare State.”
Dissertation Chair: Robin Stryker
Current Position: Institutional Research Analyst, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Megan Henley (Summer 2016)
Dissertation Title: “Science and Service: Doula Work and the Legitimacy of Alternative Knowledge Systems.”
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Colorado Mesa University
Ryan Seebruck (Fall 2015)
Dissertation Title: "Engineering Equality: The Organization of Education Labor Markets and the Distribution of Teacher Quality in Japan"
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
Current position: Director of the Division of Hazard Analysis for the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) Epidemiology Directorate
Dee Hill Zuganelli (Summer 2016)
Dissertation Title: "Chicano Studies: Proliferation of the Discipline and the Formal Institutionalization of Community Engagement, 1965 to Present.”
Dissertation Chairs: Celestino Fernandez and Robin Stryker
Current position: Associate Professor of Family Studies, Berea College
Laura K. Andrews (Fall 2014)
Dissertation Title: “God is Great, God is Green: Evangelical and Mainline Protestants in the Environmental Movement”
Dissertation Chair: Don Grant and Kraig Beyerlein
Current position: Assessment and Research Specialist, Student Success and Retention Innovation, University of Arizona
Tracy Bacon (Summer 2015)
Dissertation Title: "Good Conversation, Healthy Food, and Hard Work: How Organizations and Parents Frame the Family Meal"
Dissertation Chair: Jane Zavisca
First position: Instructor, Central New Mexico Community College
Current position: Instructor, Arapahoe Community College
Kelly Bergstrand (Spring 2015)
Dissertation Title: "Mobilizing for the Cause: Grievance Evaluations in Social Movements"
Dissertation Chair: Linda Molm and Brian Mayer
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Texas at Arlington
Jessie K. Finch (Summer 2015)
Dissertation Title: "Legal Borders, Racial/Ethnic Boundaries: Operation Streamline and Identity Processes on the US-Mexico Border"
Dissertation Chairs: Celestino Fernandez and Robin Stryker
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Stockton University of New Jersey
Current position: Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Northern Arizona University
Sharon Koppman (Spring 2015)
Dissertation Title: “Ideas for Sale: The Social Recognition of Creativity in Advertising.”
Dissertation Chairs: Erin Leahey and Jane Zavisca
Current position: Assistant Professor, Organization & Management, Paul Merage School of Business, University of California at Irvine
Eric Schoon (Summer 2015)
Dissertation Title: “From Freedom to Constraint: How Illegitimacy Shapes Civil Conflict.”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Ohio State University
Seth Wright (Spring 2015)
Dissertation Title: "Competence, Warmth, and Expectations: An Integration of Status Characteristics Theory and the Stereotype Content Model"
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth and Henry A. Walker
First position: Senior Lecturer, Northern Arizona University
Current position: Instructor, Continuing Education and the Department of Sociology, University of Colorado Boulder
Karen Gordon
Dissertation Title: "Registered Sex Offenders: Social Disorganization and Lived Experiences"
Dissertation Chairs: Jane Zavisca and Robin Stryker
First position: Instructor, Glendale Community College
Current position: Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University
Jessica Hamar Martinez
Dissertation Title: "Religious Switching Among Latinos: The Congregational Context"
Dissertation Chair: Kraig Beyerlein
First position: Research Associate, Pew Research Center
Current position: Senior Data Analyst, University Analytics & Institutional Research, University of Arizona
Amanda Lubold (Summer 2014)
Dissertation Title: “Family Policies and Public Health Initiatives: A Comparative Analysis of Breastfeeding Outcomes.”
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth
Current position: Chairperson of the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies and Associate Professor of Sociology, Indiana State University.
Sarah Melancon (formerly Sarah Strand) (Summer 2014)
Dissertation Title: “One Less Risk, or One Less Girl? Situating Gardasil and Cervical Cancer Risk in the Context of Risk-Reduction Medicine.”
Dissertation Chair: Don Grant
Current position: Self-employed
Monica Whitham
Dissertation Title: “Symbolic Social Network Ties: Motivating Cooperation in Collective Action.”
Dissertation Chairs: Linda Molm and Joe Galaskiewicz
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Oklahoma State University
Sondra N. Barringer
Dissertation Title: “Limitations on the Role of Stakeholders and the Diverse Effects of Market Conditions: College and University Finances, 1980-2010.”
Dissertation Chairs: Scott R. Eliason and Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Postdoctoral Research Assistant, University of Georgia
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Education Policy and Leadership, Southern Methodist University
Cindy Cain
Dissertation Title: “Heart Work is Hard Work: The Challenges and Adaptations of Hospice Careworkers.”
Dissertation Chair: Don Grant
First position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
Second position: Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Alabama Birmingham
Daniel Martinez
Dissertation Title: “The Crossing Experience: Unauthorized Migration along the Arizona-Sonora Border.”
Dissertation Chairs: Celestino Fernandez and Kraig Beyerlein (University of Notre Dame)
First position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, George Washington University
Current position: Assistant Professor, School of Sociology, University of Arizona
Lisa Thiebaud Nicoli
Dissertation Title: “Half a Loaf: Generosity in Cash Assistance to Single Mothers across US States, 1911-1996.”
Dissertation Chair: Lane Kenworthy
Current position: Research Specialist, University of Maryland
Katrina Running
Dissertation Title: “Towards Climate Justice: Examining Concern for Climate Change in Developed, Transitioning and Developing Countries.”
Dissertation Chair: Lane Kenworthy
Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Idaho State University
Jennifer Schultz De La Rosa
Dissertation Title: “What Structures Network Structure: How Culture, Class, and Context Matter in the Development of Social Capital”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
First position: Researcher, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona
Current position:Associate, Evaluation, Workforce Development Program, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona
Garrett Schneider
Dissertation Title: “Forging Citigroup: The Making of the Global Financial Services Conglomerate and the Remaking of Postwar Capitalism”
Dissertation Chair: Lane Kenworthy
First position: Research Associate, Lieberman Associates Worldwide
Current position: Research and Policy Director at the AFL-CIO Technology Institute
Zachary Schrank
Dissertation Title: “Market Inversion: An Ethnography on the Niche Dynamics of the Local Organic Food Movement.”
Dissertation Chair: Jeffrey Sallaz
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Indiana University South Bend
Matt Ward
Dissertation Title: “Battling to Secure America's Borders: Understanding Mobilization in the Contemporary U.S. Anti-Immigration Movement.”
Dissertation Chairs: Kraig Beyerlein (University of Notre Dame) and Charles Ragin (UC-Irvine)
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology & Sociology, University of Southern Mississippi
Gary Adler
Dissertation Title: “Encountering Distant Suffering: the Culture, Production, and Outcomes of Transnational Immersion Trips on the U.S.- Mexico Border.”
Dissertation Chairs: Ronald Breiger and Kraig Beyerlein (University of Notre Dame)
First position: Director of Research, Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, University of Southern California
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology, Pennsylvania State University - University Park Campus
Danielle Hedegard
Dissertation Title: “Radicalized Cultural Capital and Inequality: A Comparative Study of Blackness in Brazil’s Tourism Market.”
Dissertation Chair: Jane Zavisca
First position: Visiting Assistant Professor, Sociology, Boston College
Second position: Adjunct Faculty, American Public University
Current position: Adjunct Faculty, College of Doctoral Studies, Grand Canyon University
Alexander Ibsen
Dissertation Title: “Inventing Law: The Development of Legal Philosophies in the American and European Patent Systems.”
Dissertation Chair: Charles Ragin (UC-Irvine)
Current position: Deputy Editor, Minerva
David Melamed
Dissertation Title: “A New Model of Justice Evaluations: Using Graded Characteristics to Estimate Just Rewards.”
Dissertation Chair: Linda Molm
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of South Carolina
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology, Ohio State University
Paola Molina
Dissertation Title: “Gendered Repatriation: The Role of Gender and the Family on Further Migration Intentions following Repatriation.”
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth
Current position: Researcher, OMNI Institute
Scott Savage
Dissertation Title: “The Tie that Binds: Exchange and Commitment in the Face of Uncertainty”
Dissertation Chairs: Joseph Galaskiewicz and Linda Molm
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of California--Riverside
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Houston
Stephan Scholz
Dissertation Title: “Globalization and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Developing Countries, 1980-2006.”
Dissertation Chair: Charles Ragin (UC-Irvine)
First position: Instructor, Inver Hills Community College
Current position: Assistant Professor, Anthropology and Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Washington County
Megan Wright
Dissertation Title: “Men on Methadone: Fatherhood, Families, and Partners.”
Dissertation Chair: Celestino Fernandez
First position: Law and Social Science Research Fellow, James E. Rogers College of Law, UA
Second position: Research Fellow, Solomon Center for Health Law & Policy, Yale Law School
Current position: Assistant Professor, Law, Medicined and Sociology, Penn State Law, University Park
Shawna Anderson
Dissertation Title: “Conflict In American Protestant Congregation.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Research Associate, Sociology, Duke University
Current position: Survey Director II (NORC), University of Chicago
Joseph Cabrera
Dissertation Title: “Planning Social Capital: New Urbanism and the Formation of Social Interaction, Social Connection, and Community Satisfaction.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology/Criminal Justice, Marywood University
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of LaVerne
Jeremiah Coldsmith
Dissertation Title: “Rethinking Classes: A Friendly Critique and Moving Forward of Erik Olin Wright's Class Theory.”
Dissertation Chair: Don Grant
First position: Assistant Professor in Residence, Sociology, University of Connecticut
Current position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Jason Crockett
Dissertation Title: “Narratives of Racial Sexual Preference in Gay Male Subculture.”
Dissertation Chair: Erin Leahey
First position: Assistant Professor, Anthropology & Sociology, Kutztown University
Current position: Associate Professor, Anthropology & Sociology, Kutztown University
Jessica Epstein
Dissertation Title: “Competitive Convergence in Global Food Safety Policy: The Case of India.”
Dissertation Chair: Lane Kenworthy
First position: Visiting Assistant Professor, Sociology, Susquehanna University
Second position: Visiting Assistant Professor, Reed College
Current position: Associate Director, Gender and Social Inclusion, Millennium Challenge Corporation
Matthew Green
Dissertation Title: “Economic Reform and the Comparative Development of Major Chinese Cities.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, College of DuPage
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology, College of DuPage
Catherine Hoegeman
Dissertation Title: “Leadership and Mission-Based Decision-Making: U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Responses to the Priest Shortage.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Mount St. Mary's College
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, Missouri State University
Laura Hunter
Dissertation Title: “The Role of Gender in Evaluations of Scientific Competence.”
Dissertation Chair: Erin Leahey
First position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Notre Dame
Second position: Program and Research Manager, Executive Office of the President, University of Arizona
Current position: Associate Diversity Officer and Coordinator of Faculty Development, Diversity and Inclusion, University of Arizona
Claude Rubinson
Dissertation Title: “The Production of Style: Aesthetic and Ideological Diversity in the Arts and Crafts Movement, 1875-1914.”
Dissertation Chair: Charles Ragin (UC-Irvine)
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Houston
Keith Bentele
Dissertation Title: “Rising Earnings Inequality in the United States: Determinants, Divergent Paths, and State Experiences.”
Dissertation Chair: Lane Kenworthy
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Massachusetts--Boston
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Massachusetts--Boston
Michelle Bata
First position: Assistant Dean, Fordham University
Current position: Associate Dean and Director, LEEP Center, Clark University
Lorien Lake-Corral
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Maine at Augusta
Jamie Dolan
Dissertation Title: “Do Good Things for the Fish: Organizational Innovation in Tribal Governance.”
Dissertation Chair: Stephen Cornell
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Carroll College
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology, Carroll College
Beth Duckles
Dissertation Title: “The Green Building Industry in California: From Ideals to Buildings.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Bucknell University
Second position: Research Assistant Professor, Portland State University
Current position: Research Consultant and Social Scientist, Portland, OR
Jeff Larson
Dissertation Title: “Why Change? Organizational Adaptation and Stability in a Social Movement Field.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Towson University
Current position: Research statistician, State of Hawaii Executive Office on Early Learning
Monika Ulrich Meyers
Dissertation Title: “How Low-Income Fathers Prioritize Children, Define Responsibility, and Negotiate State Surveillance.”
Dissertation Chair: Louise Roth
Current position: Assistant Professor, Arkansas State University
Laura Aufderheide Brashears
Dissertation Title: “Feeling Good in Spite of Failure: Understanding Race-Based Differences in Academic Achievement and Self-Esteem.”
Dissertation Chair: Henry Walker
First position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Cornell University
Current position: Instructor, Department of Sociology, University of South Carolina
Tiffiny Guidry
Dissertation Title: “Affect and Structuring of Language Use in Ethnic Subcultures: A Study of Louisiana Cajuns.”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
First position: Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice & Sociology, Delta State University
Current position: Instructor, Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Alabama
Yi Han
Dissertation Title: “Institutional Logics, Extended Rationality, and the Effects of Military Background of Business Leaders.”
Dissertation Chair: Al Bergesen
First position: Assistant Professor, Peking University
Current position: Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
Olga Mayorova
Dissertation Title: “Social Capital and Institutional Transition: Regional Context for Network Use in Job Search in Russia, 1985-2001.”
Dissertation Chairs: Ronald Breeiger and Jane Zavisca
First position: Senior Research Associate, American Sociological Association
Current position: Lecturer, Department of Sociology, UC San Diego
Rachael Neal
Dissertation Title: “Working Together: Government Contractors Building Democracy Abroad.”
Dissertation Chair: Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Coe College
Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Criminology, Sociology and Social Work, St. Edwards University
James Roebuck
Dissertation Title: “Sounds of Distinction: Analyzing Socioacoustics to Map the Combinatorial Logic of Status and Class.”
Dissertation Chair: Charles Ragin (UC-Irvine)
Current position: Associate Research Scientist, Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona
Matthew Brashears
Dissertation Title: “Picking and Choosing, Accepting and Changing: The Effects of Selection and Harmonization on Network Structure and Content.”
Dissertation Chairs: Ronald Breiger and Miller McPherson
First position: Assistant Professor, Cornell University
Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of South Carolina
Brian Hewlett
Dissertation Title: “Spiritual but Not Religious Being: Exploring Structural Antecedents for the Paring of Spiritual and Non-Religious Identities across National Boundaries.”
Dissertation Chairs: Mark Chaves (Duke University) and Charles Ragin (UC Irvine)
First position: Assistant Professor, Cornell University
Current position: Consultant and Founder, Brian Hewlett, LLC, L.I.F.E. Lessons
George Hobor
Dissertation Title: “Post-Industrial Pathways: The Economic Re-Organization of the Urban Rust Belt.”
Dissertation Chairs: Kathleen Schwartzman and Joseph Galaskiewicz
First position: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for Urban Research and Public Policy, Washington University
Second position: Research Scientist, Louisiana Public Health Initiative
Current position: Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Samantha Kwan
Dissertation Title: “Contested Meanings about Body, Health, and Weight: Frame Resonance, Strategies of Action, and The Uses of Culture.”
Dissertation Chairs: Al Bergesen and Louise Roth
First position: Assistant Professor, Department Sociology, University of Houston
Current position: Associate Professor, Department Sociology, University of Houston
Nancy Martin
Dissertation Title: “Small Groups in Big Churches”
Dissertation Chairs: Mark Chaves (Duke University) and Ronald Breiger
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department off Sociology, California State University-Long Beach
Steven Nelson
Dissertation Title: "Offender Crime Perspectives: A Study in Affect Control Theory”
Dissertation Chairs: Linda Molm and Miller McPherson
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, Clemson University
Second position: Resident Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Creighton University
Current position: Associate Instructional Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Houston
Rebecca Sager
Dissertation Title: “The "Purpose Driven" Policy? Explaining State-Level Variation in the Faith-Based Initiative.”
Dissertation Chair: Mark Chaves (Duke University)
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology Department, Loyola Marymount University-LA
Current position: Associate Professor and Chair, Sociology Department, Loyola Marymount University-LA
Christine Sheikh
Dissertation Title: “Religious and Ethnic Variation Among Second-Generation Muslim Americans.”
Dissertation Chairs: Mark Chaves (Duke University) and Don Grant
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Denver
Current position: Affiliate Faculty, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Bill Tsitsos
Dissertation Title: “The Interaction of Race & Theological Orientation in Congregation Social Service Provision.”
Dissertation Chair: Mark Chaves (Duke University)
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Towson University
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology, Towson University
David Brubaker
Dissertation Title: “Change and Conflict in Congregations: Exploring the Relationship Between Size Transitions and Conflict Intensity in Religious Congregations.”
Dissertation Chair: Mark Chaves (Duke University)
First position: Assistant Professor, Eastern Mennonite University
Current position: Associate Professor of Organizational Studies, Eastern Mennonite University
Jessica Collett
Dissertation Title: "Third Party Intervention and Relationship Outcomes: Extending Social Exchange Theory Through the Incorporation of Intermediaries”
Dissertation Chair: Linda Molm
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Second position: Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Current position: Professor, Department of Sociology, UCLA
Omar Lizardo
Dissertation Title: "Globalization, World Culture and the Sociology of Taste: Patterns of Cultural Choice in Cross-National Perspective”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Second position: Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Current position: Professor, Department of Sociology, UCLA
Mary Nell Trautner
Dissertation Title: “Screening, Sorting, and Selecting in Complex Personal Injury Cases: How Lawyers Mediate Access to the Civil Justice System.”
Dissertation Chair: Ronald Breiger
First position: Assistant Professor, State University of New York at Buffalo
Current position: Associate Professor, State University of New York at Buffalo
Gordon Abra
Dissertation Title: “Structural Change in Exchange Relations.”
Dissertation Chair: Linda Molm
Current position: Lecturer, University of California - Santa Barbara
Melissa Sue Fry Konty
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Auburn University
Current position: Assistant Professor Director of the Applied Research and Education Center, Sociology, Indiana University Southeast
Martin Hughes
Dissertation Title: Assistant Professor, Calvin College
Second position: Lecturer, Grand Rapids Community College
Current position: Director, Academic Program Liberal Studies, Whitworth University
Kristi Clark-Miller
Current position: Professor and Chair, Sociology, Collin College
Kathleen O'Neil
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Denison University
Current position: Research Coordinator, UNITE HERE
David Shaefer
Current position: Associate Professor at the University of California-Irvine
John Sonnett
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi
Current position: Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi
James Bowie
First position: Research Specialist, Northern Arizona University
Current position: Senior Lecturer, Northern Arizona University
Brayden King
First position: Assistant Professor, Sociology, Brigham Young University
Current position: Max McGraw Chair of Management and the Environment and Professor of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management