News Brief

School of Liberal Arts
http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/

Sociology Graduate Program

http://www.iupui.edu/~slasoc/


Fall 2007 (October 24)

CONTENT

Department News

Publication and Conference News

Grants and Paper Competitions

Careers and Internships

Software and Methodological Trainings

Director of Graduate Studies Advice

Other Useful Information

Alumni News
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DEPARTMENT NEWS

The Department of Sociology welcomes nine new graduate students for fall semester (for a total of 10 students in the 2006 cohort; Sarah Hossler (Family/Gender) joined us in the spring).  Jodie Atkinson (Work/Organizations), Sarah Babb (Family/Gender/Medical), Zac Clephane (Work/Organizations), Breinne Compton (Family/Gender), Janice McCloud (Family/Gender), Ben Drury (Medical), Sarah Hampton (Family/Gender), Christine Torrence (Medical), Victor Black (Work/Organizations).
http://www.iupui.edu/~slasoc/Gradstudents.html

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Congratulations to Sarah Babb and Jodie Atkinson for receiving a highly competitive University Fellowship for their first year of graduate studies. We commend you on your stellar undergraduate academic records!

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We also welcome two new Professors to the Department!  Dr. Najja Modibo received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1995 and joins us as an Associate Professor with specialties in Welfare and Workforce Policy, Organization of Work, Gendered Racism, and the Sociology of Education.  Dr. Michelle Rainey earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2005 and joins us as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Her areas of interest are: Social Psychology, Sociology of Families, Social Problems, Adolescent Sexuality, and Parenting Practices.
http://www.iupui.edu/~slasoc/facultystaff.html

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Dr. Neale Chumbler, a medical sociologist, is being hired by the VA on Campus as a
research scientist. Part of his job package will include a tenure home in Sociology at
about 20% time in which he will be required to teach one graduate level course a year. We
are also hoping his research will create RA positions for our graduate students.

He will give a research talk for our department on Friday October 26th at 2:30p.m. in CA 508.  All graduate students are encouraged to attend and we welcome any feedback you may have about your initial impressions of Dr. Chumbler. For more information about Dr. Chumbler and his background, please see below.

http://www1.va.gov/rorc/investigators/neale_chumbler.cfm
http://www.phhp.ufl.edu/~chumbler/cv.pdf

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The department is also in the process of hiring a medical sociologist at the assistant professor level.  The search is now open and we hope to bring three candidates in for interviews in January or February. The new hire will initially teach only undergraduate courses but it is our full intention to eventually include him or her in the graduate program. We will keep the graduate students informed about the interview visits as there will be opportunities to attend their job talks, take them to lunch, etc.  Dr. Gronfein is heading the search committee.

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Sarah Muterko will serve as the Student Representative to the Graduate Committee for academic year 2006/2007.  Please keep Sarah informed regarding any student concerns that you feel are not being addressed.   sapatter@iupui.edu  In addition, students can leave anonymous feedback on-line at:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9FBQBqgmXv9gDknr6rrgjQ_3d_3d

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Congratulations to several of our students for making progress on their MA degrees!!

MA Degrees Awarded in May 2007:

Wyndy Smelser. Internship: G&S Research – Operations Team.
Tanya Gilbert. Internship: Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center.
Sarah Vincent. Body Images of Black and White Women at an Urban University.
Heather Kaufman. Competing Frames? The War on Terror in Campaign Rhetoric.
Deanna McQuillan. The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back? A Sociological Analysis of Marriage and Law School.

Thesis/Internship Proposal Requirements Met

Cindy Solinksky, Tiffany Smith, Amanda Richey, Stacia Murphy, Erica Reichert
 
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We have three Graduate Student Teaching Assistants this semester.  Chris Conner, Zac Clephane, and Sarah Muterko will work as TAs for the fall semester with Dr. Ain Haas (Social Statistics), Dr. Robert Aponte (Intro to Soc),  and Instructor David Strong (Intro to Soc). 

We also have several Research Assistants working for faculty.  Tiffany Smith, Jodie Atkinson, Sarah Babb, Sam Jones, and Erica Reichert are working as RAs for Drs. Gronfein, Gardner, Aponte, Foote, White, and Fife.    

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Tiffany Smith and Sarah Muterko are currently enrolled in the preparing future faculty program on campus.
http://www.opd.iupui.edu/Units/SCAP/ppf.asp

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Sarah Babb organized and led the Sociology AIDS Walk Team this year and together the team raised more than $1,100 on Sunday, October 14th.  The Department raised more than any other participating school group and was recognized at the event. The AIDS Walk & Ride supports services and programs serving the 10,000+ Indiana residents with HIV/AID. http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/news/?p=57

Chris Conner covered the AIDS Walk Event For NUVO. Check out his photos at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Eden.in.indy/Aidswalk07

Sarah Babb is also involved in planning a Take Back the Night rally and march on campus. The rally and march are an opportunity for men and women to assert the right of all people to be free from violence and to speak out against violations of this basic right. This year's event is currently in the planning stage. The next TBTN meeting will be held on Monday, Nov. 26, at 9 am.  To receive additional information, contact Marissa Irvine at iupuitbtn@yahoo.com.  Or, you can receive information at their myspace page! 

Ben Drury recently began volunteer work on a large grant through the Indianapolis Neighborhood Research Center.  In conjunction with several other local organizations, the grant is designed to finance a neighborhood outreach program called "Engagement”. For more details see:
http://blogs.indystar.com/coffee/archives/2007/10/grants_help_str.html
http://www.inrc.org

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Spring 2008 registration is now open! Try to register for courses ASAP.  This helps the department determine early on whether we will have enough students in each course to avoid course cancelation.  All first year students are required to take Qualitative Research Methods. Courses being offered are as follows:

R559 Sociological Statistics
S560 Topics: Gender and Health
S560 Topics: Visual Sociology
S613 Complex Organizations
S659 Qualitative Research Methods

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Reminder: You have 5 years to complete your MA degree but normally a full time student is expected to complete their degree in 2 years, a part-time student in 3 years.  Courses older than five years will not count towards your degree.  Should extenuating circumstances exist, a student may petition for an exception but this is rare.

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Reminder: Please keep the Director of Graduate Studies informed of any academic graduate student activities such as presentations, publications, major progress towards the completion of the MA, or acceptance to Ph.D. programs. It is critical to have this information when completing yearly graduate program reports for the school.  E-mail Dr. Carrie a description of the activity including the title, date, other authors, and organization if applicable.

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PUBLICATION AND CONFERENCE NEWS

Congratulations to Deanna McQuillan (MA 2007) for her first publication. She has coauthored a chapter from her thesis with her thesis chair, Dr. Carrie Foote. “Law School and Marriage: Making it Work” Marriage and Family Review. 42 (4). This issue should come out in December.

Congratulations to Tiffany Smith for the acceptance of her article on “Foot Binding” in the Encyclopedia of Gender.  Ed. Jody O’Briene. CA: Sage. Tiffany is also coediting the most recent edition of the ASA Teaching Medical Sociology Handbook with Dr. Bill Gronfein.  

Congratulations to Erica Reichert for the acceptance of two articles in LGBTQ America Today
Ed. John Hawley. Westport:  Greenwood Press.  Forthcoming. This encyclopedia provides an interdisciplinary record of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer life in the United States over the last 50 years. Erica has two entries: “Michiyo Fukaya” and Muriel Rukeyser”.

Several graduate students also presented papers at the summer conferences:

Tiffany Smith. “Foot Binding as a Purposeful Creation of Disability: The Place of Foot Binding in the Vernacular of Feminist Disability Theory.” Annual meeting for the American Sociological Association, New York City, New York, August 11-12.

Ben Drury and Carrie Foote. “AIDS Knowledge, Policy, and Stigma: College Students’ Views.” Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, New York City, New York, August 10-12.

Sarah Babb. “Evolution of Age of Consent Laws:  The Legal and Social Constructions of Sexual Consent During The Progressive Era.” Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, New York City, New York, August 10-12.

Sarah Muterko. “Higher Education Faculty/Staff Dual-Career Couples and Their Career Related Migration Decisions.” Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, New York City, New York, August 10-12. And the Annual Meeting for the American Sociological Association, New York City, New York, August 11-14.

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Interested in presenting at a conference?  ASA, SSSP, SSSI, ABS, and other exciting conferences will take place in Boston next year.  

American Sociological Association
Call for papers will open soon and remain open until early January 2008 http://www.asanet.org/cs/root/leftnav/meetings/2008

Society for the Student of Social Problems
Call for papers will open by Nov.1 and remain open until then end of January 2008 http://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/293

Society for the Study of Symbolic Interactionism
http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~sssi/sssiasa.html
North Central Sociological Association
Call for papers Deadline: Nov. 30
http://www.ncsanet.org/calloct07.pdf
Midwest Sociological Society
Call for Papers Deadline: October 31
http://www.themss.org/#anchor_119
Association of Black Sociologists
Call for Papers Deadline: March 1
http://www.blacksociologists.org/conference.htm
Some of these associations offer graduate student travel funds if you are presenting a paper.  The IUPUI Graduate school also offers travel funds for presenting at conferences.  Importantly, if you plan to apply to the graduate school for travel funds you must first consult with the Director of Graduate Studies as the applications must be submitted by the department and we can only recommend two per cycle.
http://www.iupui.edu/~gradoff/students/travelfell.html
 
Students might also consider joining one or more of these associations which provide valuable information such as career opportunities through the ASA Job bank.

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GRANTS AND PAPER COMPETITIONS

Open student paper competitions:

Association of Black Sociologists Graduate Student Paper Competition:
Deadline May 1, 2008
http://www.blacksociologists.org/awards.htm

45th Annual Midwest Sociological Society Student Paper Competition:  
Deadline Jan. 8, 2008
http://www.themss.org/opportunities-mssopportunities.html

North Central Sociological Association Student Paper Competition:
Deadline Jan 8, 2008
http://www.ncsanet.org/students/papcomp08.pdf

The Midwest Sociologists for Women in Society Student Paper Competition. Papers must address an issue or issues related to women in society.  For more information contact, Gina Petonito, Department of Sociology and Gerontology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, at petonig@muohio.edu by Jan. 25, 2008.

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SSSP Lee Student Support Fund for travel to present a paper at SSSP
http://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/263

The Graduate Student Organization will be funding the Educational Enhancement Grants again this year.  The deadline for Fall submission is 5 PM on Oct. 31st.
http://www.iupui.edu/~gradstu/

Thesis research expense grants for up to $500 in expenses associated with conducting thesis research will be awarded on a case-by-case basis.  Specific guidelines for applying are available in the 2006 Sociology Graduate Student Handbook

Grad Grants Center: For information on funding for graduate students, including research grant information, try the Grad Grants Center available for IUPUI graduate students at www.indiana.edu/~gradgrnt/index.html

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Congratulations to:

Tiffany Smith for receiving an IUPUI Graduate School Travel Grant to present a paper at ASA
Erica Reichert for receiving a Sociology Department Thesis Grant
Erica Reichert for receiving a Sociologist AIDS Network Scholarly Activity Award
Heather Kaufman for receiving a Sociology Dept. Travel Grant to present a paper at SSSP
Ben Drury and Sarah Babb for receiving UROP Travel Grants to present papers at SSSP

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CAREERS and INTERNSHIPS

Looking for an internship?  Read your socgrads e-mail often.  I usually post 1-2 internship advertisements a month to the listserv and many of these pay.  Please remember that a student must have completed 18 credits hours of graduate level course work before starting an internship, especially if you are doing the internship option to the thesis. 

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Upcoming IUPUI Sponsored Job Fairs
http://www.career.iupui.edu/upcomingevents/jobfairs.asp

IUPUI Career Workshops
http://www.career.iupui.edu/upcomingevents/workshops.asp

Interested in a career in teaching after graduate school?  Sociology students can teach at the college/university level with a MA degree.  Consider participating in the IUPUI’s Preparing Future Faculty Program http://www.opd.iupui.edu/Units/SCAP/ppf.asp  Our department only has a limited number of teaching assistant appointments for graduate students and these are normally awarded based on adequate progress in the program as well as merit.  

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SOFTWARE and METHODOLOGICAL TRAININGS

IT Training offers very useful free STEPS workshops for students including introductions to SPSS and EndNote.  These workshops are free to students.  I highly recommend that you learn EndNote, software for creating in-text citations and bibliographies for your research papers.  You can register for STEPS workshops at: http://ittraining.iu.edu/iupui/

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ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods for Social Research.  The two four-week sessions of the 2008 Program will be conducted in June and July. The updated schedule for 2008, and the on-line registration form, will be posted in late January--at which time you'll be able to sign up. http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/training/summer/index.html
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DGS ADVICE

Thinking of pursuing a Ph.D.? I recently ran across some useful on-line articles for students considering entering a Ph.D. program. See:
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/t/tumminia/Grad.htm
http://www.phd-survey.org/advice/advice.htm
http://www.phd-survey.org/advice/sociology.htm
http://sociology.boisestate.edu/majors/graduateschool.shtml

Interested in publishing? Preparing a paper for publication is a lot of work that is often difficult for graduate students.  One solution - consider asking your thesis committee chair to help you revise your thesis (or other research papers) into manuscripts that you can then submit for journal publication).  Many faculty welcome the opportunity to coauthor papers and have the skills to revise your thesis so that it becomes acceptable for publication.  In these cases, the student would be the first author, and the faculty member the second author.

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OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION

Having difficulty affording your books? Check one or more of the following websites to find copies for less:

http://www.
 powells.com
 alibris.com
 ecampus.com
 campusbook.com
 half.com
 textbooksRus.com
 barnesandnoble.com
 amazon.com
 bestbookbuys.com
Or try a search in Ebrary http://site.ebrary.com/lib/iupui which provides over 25K books on-line at no cost to the student. You will need to download software to use this service from the ebrary website but then have full access to entire books and other on-line features to make notes in these books. Search the data base to see if your course texts are there.  Also try http://www.netlibrary.com/ for additional on-line books.
Or try a search in http://www.campusi.com – a search engine that automatically checks thousands of online book retailers and individual sellers and then organizes the results by best price. You can then click on the individual listings to get information about the condition of the book; etc.
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Reminder:  Each graduate student has a mailbox in CA 303.   Please be sure to check your mailbox periodically for mail. 

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Reminder: Completed Master Thesis papers of past students are available in the Sussman Library CA 316.   You may review these but please do not remove these from the library.  In addition, two resource folders are available to assist you with writing thesis and internship proposals.   These folders contain examples of approved student proposals and are located on the graduate student bookcase in CA 306, bottom shelf.  You may make copies but please leave the originals in the order that you found them.  A third folder with successful graduate student grant applications is also now available.

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ALUMNI NEWS

Tiffany Martin Brown (MA 2003) defended her dissertation in Sociology in June 2007 at the University of California, San Francisco.  She completed her Ph.D. in 4 years record time! She is currently living in Colorado Springs, Colorado and has held adjunct faculty positions while completing her PhD at Concorde Career College, Front Range Community College, and Metropolitan State College of Denver, teaching Intro to Sociology and Mental Disorders.  She also presented a paper at ASA this year, titled, “Is EHR Use Creating Negative Changes in Provider-Patient Interactions in Solo/Small Group Primary Care Practices?” Tiffany also recently received a prestigious teaching scholarship award for ASA from Pine Forge Press!

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Mathew Gayman (MA 2003) is working on his Ph.D. in Sociology at Florida State University and plans to graduate in May 2008.  He was also recently named the 2007ASA Medical Sociology Louise Johnson Scholar.   The title of Mathew’s paper for this award is “Consequences of the Timing of Onset of Psychiatric Disorders and Substance Dependence on Social Support and Psychosocial Resources.” The paper examines how mental health problems among a sample of youths transitioning into adulthood have consequences for their social and psychosocial resources. The results reveal that there are negative consequences of psychiatric disorders and substance dependence for the acquisition of social and psychosocial resources. These associations are conditioned by the specific disorder-resource relationship and by gender and race/ethnicity. The Committee was impressed by the conceptual argument that is set forth in the paper and by the sophistication of the analyses. Mr. Gayman’s paper was judged to be an important contribution to research in medical sociology.

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Aimee Zoeller (MA 2005) started a two year visiting lecturer position at Indiana University at Columbus.   Aimee also has a new publication with Dr. Jay Howard in Teaching Sociology, Vol. 35 titled, “The Role of the Introductory Sociology Course on Students' Perceptions of Achievement of General Education Goals."

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Sharon Sidenbender (MA 2005) continues to work with Professor Jim Wolf in the IUPUI Survey Research Center as the Assistant Director of Administration. She is responsible for overseeing the administrative obligations of the Survey Research Center (http://www.indiana.edu/~csr).

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Tony Lawson (MA 2006) recently began work with Eli Lilly as an Outcomes Research Consultant.  His responsibilities are to develop, implement and manage US Phase IV outcomes research within Lilly’s neuroscience portfolio.  He and his wife also had a healthy baby boy this summer!

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Tysha Hardy Sellers (MA 2006) is a lecturer of Sociology at Franklin College and IVY Tech. She taught Gerontology at Franklin during the fall and taught Sociology 101 at both colleges this past spring.

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Merih Tzeggai Bennett (MA 2006) was recently hired at G&S Marketing Research as an entry level analyst (www.gs-research.com).

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Charles Hulen (MA 2006) continues to work towards his Ph.D. in Sociology at the
University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

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Wyndy Smelser (MA 2007) works as a Moderator/Analyst for G&S Research, Inc.  In this senior analyst-level position, she is responsible for all aspects of qualitative research, including: developing qualitative study instruments; conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with consumers and health care professionals; analyzing collected data and reporting for clients within the pharmaceutical, biomedical, and health care industries (www.gs-research.com).

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Deanna McQuillan  (MA 2007) moved to Denver Colorado where she is employed as a
Behavioral Researcher Level II with the National Jewish Medical and Research Center (the #1
respiratory hospital in the US).  She current is working for two PIs on 4 different grants.  Two of
the grants are for projects involving using telephone interventions to promote asthma medication
adherence. The other grants are for an MD who is working on reducing second hand smoke
exposure in young children, particularly young children with asthma, by teaching clinics and
practitioners best practices for teaching patients how to reduce the amount of smoke in the home.

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Sarah Vincent (MA 2007) continues to work as an IUPUI Academic Advisor for IUPUI where
she assists new and current IUPUI students in their academic scheduling, major/career
exploration, and enhancing their skills in order for a successful completion of their
undergraduate career.

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Tanya Gilbert (MA 2007) works as a health educator for Life Master, a disease management
company.

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Heather Kaufman (MA 2007) presented her thesis research -- “Competing Frames – Social
Constructions of the War on Terror in Campaign Rhetoric.” at the Annual Meeting of the Society
for the Study of Social Problems, New York City, New York, August 10-12.  She is also co-editing
the Encyclopedia of American Reform Movements. 

 

Do you have some graduate program or graduate student news to share?  We are also especially interested in hearing about what former graduate students are doing.  Please e-mail your news Brief to Dr. Carrie at foote@iupui.edu

IU School of Liberal Arts
http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/
Department of Sociology
http://www.iupui.edu/~slasoc/