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Editor:
Tonya Allen
allen@pop.psu.edu
PRInformation
Fall 2005
Faculty Focus
New Research Associates
Dr. Michelle Frisco (PhD, Sociology, University of Texas-Austin, 2001), assistant professor of sociology. Research interests: Health, well-being and stratification during adolescence and the transition to adulthood; social demography; sociology of the family; sociology of education; medical sociology; aging and the elderly.
Dr. Kathryn Hynes (PhD, Sociology, Cornell University, 2005), assistant professor of human development and family studies. Research interests: Quantitative and qualitative methods to address the question: How can parents with young children successfully manage their work and family roles?
Dr. Molly Martin (PhD, Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2003), assistant professor of sociology. Research interests: The reproduction of inequality across generations.
Dr. Carol Weisman (PhD, Social Relations (Sociology), Johns Hopkins University, 1973), professor of health evaluation sciences. Research interests: Women's health care and policy.
New Research Affiliates
Dr. Chalandra Bryant (PhD, Child Development & Family Relations, The University of Texas-Austin, 1996), associate professor of human development and family studies. Research interests: Marital and pre-marital relationships; development of early adult intimate relationships; influence of family of origin on development of close relationships; social networks; minority families.
Dr. Elias Mpofu (PhD, Educational Psychology/Rehabilitation Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1999), professor of education. Research interests: Customer-centered rehabilitation.
Dr. Kai Schafft (PhD, Development Sociology, Cornell University, 2003), assistant professor of education. Research interests: The relationship between social inequality, spatial inequality and rural development.
Dr. Gustavo Ventura (PhD, Economics, University of Illinois, 1997), assistant professor of economics. Research interests: Macroeconomics; taxation; economic development.
Dr. Robin Taylor Wilson (PhD, Epidemiology, University of Iowa, 2000), assistant professor of health evaluation sciences. Research interests: Molecular epidemiology; occupational cancer risks; health disparities and cancer surveillance.
Promotions
Dr. Terryl J. Hartman, to Associate Professor of Nutrition
Dr. Eric Plutzer, to Professor of Political Science and Sociology
Dr. Suet-ling Pong, to Professor of Education, Sociology and Demography
Dr. Stacy J. Rogers, to Associate Professor of Sociology and Human Development and Family Studies
Other Appointments
Dr. Stephen Matthews has been appointed Associate Professor of Sociology, Anthropology and Demography.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Duane Alwin, McCourtney Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Human Development and Family Studies, organized a session on "Milestones in Aging and Life Course Research" for the ASA section on Aging and Life Course, 100th annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, 2005.
Dr. David P. Baker, professor of education and sociology, has been chosen as a 2005-2006 New Century Scholar by the Fulbright Program. Dr. Baker will conduct a study of intellectual and managerial crisis in Germany with colleagues in Berlin and at Penn State's Center for the Study of Higher Education.
Dr. Linda M. Burton, professor of human development and family studies, sociology and demography, received the 2005 Legacy Award from the Family Research Consortium. The Family Research Consortium (FRC) was established with funding from the National Institute of Mental Health in 1985 to improve the quality of investigation and to stimulate broader collaboration in the field of family research.
Dr. John Casterline, professor of sociology and demography, was appointed to the World Health Organization Specialist Panel for Social Science and Reproductive Health.
Dr. Francis Dodoo, professor of sociology and demography, was Senior Mentor, Population Association of America Annual Lunch for Junior Population Scholars, 2005.
Dr. Roger Finke, professor of sociology and religious studies and director of the American Religion Data Archive, was visiting professor at the Sino-U.S.-European Summer Institute for the Scientific Study of Religion, Renmin University, Beijing, China, 2005.
Dr. Roger Finke, professor of sociology and religious studies and director of the American Religion Data Archive, received The Pennsylvania State University's 2005 Liberal Arts Distinction in the Social Sciences Award.
Dr. Roger Finke, professor of sociology and religious studies and director of the American Religion Data Archive, has been appointed to the Executive Council of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion; and is an Advisory Board Member for the Longitudinal Survey of Religious Behaviors and Values.
Dr. Glenn Firebaugh, Liberal Arts Research Professor of Sociology and Demography, was elected to the Committee on Nominations of the American Sociological Association for 2005 and 2006.
Dr. Constance Flanagan, professor of agricultural and extension education, has been appointed to the Alliance Research Council, America's Promise: The Alliance for Youth.
Dr. Melissa Hardy, professor of human development and family studies and sociology, was elected Chair of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, Gerontological Society of America.
Dr. Melissa Hardy, professor of human development and family studies and sociology, was appointed to the editorial board of Sociological Methodology.
Dr. Scott Hofer, associate professor of human development and family studies, was Visiting Professor, Department of Gerontopsychology, June-July, 2005, University of Zurich.
Dr. Leif Jensen, director of PRI and professor of rural sociology and demography, received the 2005 Award for Excellence in Research from the Rural Sociological Society.
Dr. Leif Jensen, director of PRI and professor of rural sociology and demography, has been appointed a Member of the Scientific Committee, Comparative Research Programme on Poverty, University of Bergen (Norway).
Dr. Valarie King, associate professor of sociology, demography, and human development and family studies, was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Research & Theory Section, National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), 2005-2007.
Dr. Suet-ling Pong, professor of education, sociology and demography, was elected secretary/treasurer, Sociology of Education Section, American Sociological Association.
Dr. Robert Schoen, Hoffman Professor of Family Sociology and Demography, was appointed by the Director of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) to the Review Panel on the NCHS Mortality Component of the Vital Statistics Program.
Dr. Keith Whitfield, associate professor of biobehavioral health, has been appointed Member, Institute of Medicine Committee on Assessing Interactions Among Social, Behavioral, and Genetic Factors on Health.
Dr. Robin Taylor Wilson, assistant professor of health evaluation sciences, was elected to be a Governing Councilor of the American Public Health Association.
Dr. Linda Wray, assistant professor of biobehavioral health, has been appointed to the Nominations Committee for the Section on Aging and the Life Course, American Sociological Association.
Invited Speakers
Dr. Paul R. Amato, professor of sociology and demography, presented "Marital Conflict, Marital Instability, and Children's Well-Being" at the Conference on Studying Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics, Mannheim, Germany, July 22, 2005.
Dr. Gordon F. De Jong, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Demography and director, Graduate Program in Demography, presented "Testing Own-Future versus Household Well-Being Decision Rules for Migration," an invited paper for the 25th Congress of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, Tours, France, July 19, 2005.
Dr. George Farkas, professor of sociology, demography, and education, presented "Being Unready for School: Factors Affecting Risk and Resilience" as invited lead speaker at the 2005 National Symposium on Family Issues, The Pennsylvania State University, October 13, 2005; and "How Educational Inequality Develops" as invited speaker, conference on The Colors of Poverty: Why Racial and Ethnic Disparities Persist, National Poverty Center, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, September 16, 2005.
Dr. Richard Felson, professor of crime, law and justice and sociology, gave a keynote lecture at the 9th International Family Violence Research Conference, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July, 2005, entitled "How is Couple Violence Different from Other Forms of Violence?" Dr. Felson was also invited to give a talk, "Gender and Domestic Violence," at the University of Haifa, Israel, November, 2005.
Dr. Nezih Guner, assistant professor of economics, presented "Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households" at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Economics Seminar, March 2005; and "Social Change" at the University of Minnesota, The Minnesota Workshop in Macroeconomic Theory, July 2005, and at Stanford University, Stanford Institute for Theoretical Economics, 2005 Summer Program Segment on The Nexus between Household Economics and the Macro Economy, August 2005.
Dr. Leif Jensen, director of PRI and professor of rural sociology and demography, presented "Dominicans in New Gateway Communities: Identities, Language and Economic Outcomes in Reading, Pennsylvania" at the conference on Immigration to the United States: New Sources and Destinations, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, February, 2005; and "Socioeconomic Status, Access to Services and Other Measures of Well-Being," invited discussant comments for a conference on Addressing Health, Educational, and Socioeconomic Disparities of Children in Immigrant Families, National Institute on Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, May, 2005.
Dr. Barrett Lee, professor of sociology and demography, presented "Side by Side? The Elusive Goal of Racial Integration in an Urban Neighborhood" to the Sociology Colloquium Series at the University of Washington, May 13, 2005. This invited presentation was in honor of the retirement of longtime UW faculty member and demographer Avery Guest.
Dr. Linda Wray, assistant professor of biobehavioral health, made an invited presentation of her work on "Social Status, Risky Health Behaviors, and Diabetes in Middle-Aged and Older Adults" to the Penn State Diabetes Center Research Retreat, State College, PA, May 2005.
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