Greetings alums, current majors, and parents!

Following the resignation of Tom Arvanites as department chair this past spring, I have been appointed the interim Sociology and Criminology chairperson. Our hope over the next year is to identify a longer-term chair. My main goal during these twelve months is to further strengthen our flourishing criminology major and to revive our sociology major, which has become less popular over the years. To that end, I am asking for your ideas about how to draw interest to both programs. Think outside the box, like we encourage(d) you to do in class. What were and are some of the obstacles you face(d) in choosing and completing the majors? Current students: stop by at your leisure, even if it’s not during the formal advising period. Alums: please let us know what you are up to. We would like to herald your successes so when people (inevitably) ask us “what can I do with a Sociology or Criminology major,” we can share specific examples.

Many thanks to everyone,

Professor and Interim Chair

Congratulations to our student award winners! The medallion of excellence award winners are Christiana Holguin ’22 CLAS (sociology) and Lydia Becker ’22 CLAS (criminology). The McGarry award winner is Anjini Patel ’22 CLAS (sociology).

View previous award winners on our Awards page.

Lance Hannon, PhD, was awarded the 2022 University Scholarly Achievement Award selected by the Faculty Congress Awards Committee. This award recognizes excellence for published research, scholarship and/or creative expression during the past three years.

Jill McCorkel, PhD, was awarded the 2022 Lafferty Award selected by the Faculty Congress Awards Committee. Students submit nominations for the award which recognizes distinctive and lasting contributions to enhance the quality of the student experience by engaging with students in significant ways outside a traditional teaching or research relationship and beyond their formal advising duties.

Ken Chih-Yan Sun, PhD, was one of the 2022 UNITAS Award recipients. This faculty research program supports scholarly research that focuses on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Meredith Bergey, PhD, along with co-authors Giuseppina Chiri, PhD, and Thomas Mackie, PhD, published an article in Social Science and Medicine titled “Deserving but not Entitled: The Social Construction of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Federal Policy.”

Glenn Bracey, PhD, has an article forthcoming in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity titled “The Spirit of Critical Race Theory.”

Heidi Grundetjern, PhD, published an article titled “A Decade of Change in the Gendered Organizational Structure of Methamphetamine Markets in the American Midwest” in The British Journal of Criminology.

Heidi Grundetjern, PhD, along with co-author Alessandra Milagros Early, PhD, published an article titled “The Role of Sex and Compulsory Heterosexuality Within the Rural Methamphetamine Market” in Crime & Delinquency.

A 2019 paper by Melissa Hodges, PhD, along with co-authors Michelle Budig and Paula England titled “Wages of Nurturant and Reproductive Care Workers: Individual and Job Characteristics, Occupational Closure, and Wage-Equalizing Institutions” was cited in the 2022 Economic Report of the President.

Allison Ann Payne, PhD, published a chapter with the department’s research associate, Denise Wilson and former Villanova graduate student Kirsten L. Witherup, PhD, titled “Prevention and Intervention Programs for Bullying Perpetration and Victimization.” The chapter is part of an edited volume titled The Sociology of Bullying.

Brianna Remster, PhD, and Rory Kramer, PhD, gave a presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting in Los Angeles, CA titled “Prison Gerrymandering, Voting, and the 2020 Census.”

Brianna Remster, PhD, and Rory Kramer, PhD, gave a presentation at the Law and Society Association annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal titled “Race, Mass Criminalization, and Political Marginalization in the U.S.”