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ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT The FacultyThe overall quality of the degree programs is excellent. This can be attributed to the level of faculty preparation, area and institutional resources, and the quality of students attracted to the program. The backbone of the program is three full time faculty members, two of which hold Ph.D. degrees: one from the University of Pennsylvania and the other from the University of Delaware. The third member is working towards a Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. Several sociology courses are instructed by three social work faculty, two of which hold Ph.D.s from the University of Maryland. Also, an anthropologist, who holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, teaches two general sociology and two anthropology upper division courses each semester. The department geographer holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Several social work and anthropology courses are utilized as electives in the Sociology and Criminal Justice programs. Also, each of these five associates teach at least one upper division course per academic year. There are, as of the fall of 2006, eleven adjuncts teaching in the programs. Four are attorneys teaching criminal justice and geography courses, two hold criminal justice degrees and the remaining five have master's degrees in either sociology, social science or social work. The academic preparation and development of the faculty associated with the programs are excellent. Several have published scientific papers at conferences and all of them are heavily involved in university committees, other university organizations and community activity. The most outstanding qualities of the sociology program faculty are their devotion to students, their dedication to the classroom, and their academic credentials. The StudentsOver the past three and a half decades, nearly 350 students have graduated with a degree in sociology and nearly 250 have minored. The ranges of occupations possessed by these graduates are varied. The following is a partial list: college professors, social work analysts, probation and parole officers and personnel, police officers and personnel, high school and college counselors, social work personnel, arbitrators, directors of juvenile detention centers, journalists, radio and television personalities, public relations directors, marketing analysts, nursing home directors and gerontology specialists, medical center personnel directors, medical staff workers, medical fraud investigators, communication analysts, child care specialists, staff workers with mentally and emotionally disturbed children, staff workers with the handicapped, state local, and federal government workers, peace corps participants and self employed workers. One of the graduates became the youngest person ever to be employed as a U.S. Secret Service agent; he is now one of eight associate regional directors in the country. The sociology faculty has been involved in aiding the graduating students in acquiring graduate assistantships, scholarships, fellowship grants and admittance to a variety of graduate schools. Of the graduating students, nineteen have completed their.... |