Faculty & Staff

The Department of Sociology had its beginnings in 1940 when the University offered a concentration in sociology. Since then, the Sociology Department has been committed to excellence in teaching, research and community service.

Our research driven faculty help students to develop a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of complex social issues. That includes social inequalities, injustice, unequal distribution of wealth, poverty and the social macro forces behind these phenomena in an increasingly era of globalization and a transnational way of life.

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Tenured and Tenure-Track Professors

Audrey N. Beck
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Duke University
NH-214
[email protected]

Research interests: Health, Stratification, Family, Education, Demography, Immigration, Research Methods, Statistics

Timothy C. Brown
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Louisiana State University
NH-218
[email protected]

Research interests: Crime and Deviance, Gangs, Rural Crime, Social Inequality, Qualitative Research Methods

Jung Min Choi
Professor & Graduate Advisor
Ph.D., York University, Toronto
NH-204
[email protected]

Research interests: Race and Ethnic Relations, Social Organization, Political Sociology

Jill Esbenshade
Professor
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
NH-221
[email protected]

Research interests: Ethnic Studies Minority Groups, Immigration, Global Economy, Labor and the Apparel Industry, Gender

Joseph Gibbons
Professor
Ph.D., University at Albany, State University of New York
NH-217
[email protected]

Research interests: Urban Sociology, Race and Ethnicity, Urban Organizations, Health Disparities, Mixed Methods, Spatial Analysis

Hank Johnston
Professor
Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
NH-220
(619) 594-1323
[email protected]

Research interests: Social movements and contentious politics, ethnonationalist movements, mobilization processes

Minjeong Kim
Professor and Director, Center for Asian & Pacific Studies
Ph.D., University at Albany, SUNY
NH-215
[email protected]

Research interests: Gender, family and international migration, Asian American studies and the media

Ruth X. Liu
Professor
Ph.D., Texas A&M University
NH-222
[email protected]

Research interests: Deviance and Crime, At-Risk Youth, Social Psychology, Quantitative Methods

Enrico Marcelli
Associate Professor (On Leave 2024-25)
Ph.D., University of Southern California
NH-219
[email protected]

Research interests: Migration, Health, Urban Sociology, Demography

Michael McCall
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Washington University (St. Louis)
NH-216
[email protected]

Research interests: Social Theory, Social Issues, Gender Roles

Norma Ojeda
Professor Emerita
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
NH-223
[email protected]

Research interests: Demography, Family, Reproductive Health, Gender, U.S.-Mexico Border Studies

Michael J. Roberts
Professor & Advisor for Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD)
Ph.D., City University of New York, Graduate Center
NH-213
[email protected]

Research interests: Critical theory, cultural studies, the culture and history of surfing, sociology of music, science and technology studies and labor studies

Norah Shultz
Professor & Chair
Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College
NH-210
[email protected]

Research Interests: Higher Education Curriculum, Diversity & Inclusion in Higher Education

Stephen Cho Suh
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
AL-469
[email protected]

Research Interests: Intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, migration, and culture, especially in relation to Asian Americans and the Korean diaspora

Neftalie Williams
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Waikato
NH-209
[email protected]