Faculty Credentials

Alessandro A Bonanno (F) - Vita

• Articles aboout culture and ethnicity of different groups

Crystal G Brown (F) - Vita

Emily R Cabaniss (F) - Vita

• I have published peer reviewed articles on the reproduction of inequality and social change related to immigration, gender, class, and race/ethnicity.

Caron Charlton Cates (F) - Vita

• Fifteen plus years teaching undergraduate courses in Sam Houston's Sociology Dept. with multiple course loads.Classes have included Intro to Ethnic Studies, Social Problems, Gender Inequality, and Race and Ethnic Inequality.I am also currently the correspondence course grader for Marriage and the Family, Social Problems, and Cultural Anthropology.
• Co-author of the book chapter, 'Resisting Integration in the Global-Agro System: Corporate Chickens and Community Controversy in Texas ,' in the book Globalization, Localization, and Sustainable Livelihoods edited by R. Almas and G. Lawrence.

Jin Young Choi (F) - Vita

• I have published peer review publications in the areas of health and ethnicity.
• 2016 Excellence in Research Award, Southern Rural Sociological Association (113th Annual Meeting of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists), San Antonio, Texas.

Eugenia Conde-Dudding (P) - Vita

• I have published peer-reviewed articles, and presented papers, nationally and internationally, on statistical and research methods. Moreover, I have an MSPH with specialty in epidemiology, which required me to take advanced statistical methods, in addition to those I completed for my Ph.D.in Sociology.

Douglas H Constance (F) - Vita

• I have published several peer review publications that focus on social change and development in general and globalization in particular. These publications include theoretical framing and substantive cases. I also have serveral publications regarding rural and community sociology.

Furjen Deng (F) - Vita

• I published peer-reviewed arctiles in statistics and cross-cultural studies.

Karen M Douglas (F) - Vita

• I have published several book chapters and peer reviewed articles in the area of race/ethnic relations.

Joseph Ralph Gallo (F) - Vita

• I have taught Sociology and Criminology for the last two decades. During that time, I have served as a juvenile probation officer for three years, where I received hands-on experience and education of juvenile judicial law. My teaching experience ranges from undergraduate to graduate course work in the areas of Sociology, Criminology, and GIS in traditional university settings and nontraditional settings to include correctional institutions within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system in Texas.
• I have published peer reviewed articles recently and continue to publish scholarly research regarding under served communities. I also serve as a reviewer for several journals.

Jeffrey A Gardner (F) - Vita

Maki Hatanaka (F) - Vita

TzeLi Hsu (F) - Vita

Amy Manning Kirk (P) - Vita

Jason Thomas Konefal (F) - Vita

• I have published peer reviewed journal articles in the areas of environmental sociology and the sociology of food and agriculture.

Olena Viacheslavivna Leipnik (F) - Vita

• In 2001, I received the First Prize in the nationwide competition in Ukraine for Young Sociologist. The 11 months scholarship in Sociology at Iowa State University (2003 - 2004) was a grant from the USA government I won in a fierce competition.
• I actively publish in peer review journals in three languages and attend conferences in the USA and internationally. I published a co-authored book on the construction of national identity (an intersection of sociology and political science).
• I hold a Doctorate degree in Philosophical Anthropology that is, in American academic tradition, a part of Cultural Anthropology. I was trained in sociology in Summer Schools, master-classes, regional schools, and other formats in several countries, such as Ukraine, Georgia, and Russia (an equivalent of 20 hours altogether). For the 2003-2004 academic year, I was a Visiting Scholar in Sociology at Iowas State University, Ames, Iowa; the position was funded by American Counsel for International Education. At ISU, I audited six hours of courses in sociology. In Ukraine, I worked as an associate professor in Applied Sociology department, and, while working for Ukrainian Parliament, I, among other duties, was directing sociological research and socio-political analytics. In the United Nations Development Program in Ukraine, I worked as an Expert and directing research projects on topical societal issues. In Ukraine, I used to teach a graduate seminar in Societal Transformations in Post-Soviet Countries. I carry an active research agenda on topical societal issues in various regions of the world that, together with my academic and professional background, provide a solid ground for teaching a graduate seminar in Social Change and Development here, at American University. In Ukraine, I taught an advanced undergraduate course in Cultural Sociology and a graduate course in Contemporary Social Mythology and other culture related courses. I am prepared to teach Cultural Sociology

Lee Mary Miller (F) - Vita

• Over 10 years of community engagement experience. Founding co-director of the SHSU Center for Community Engagement.

Haitrieu Thi Nguyen (F) - Vita

• Managed and executed multiple nation-wide employment and housing surveys targeting the urban underclass. Founder of a homeless non-profit organization

April M Plemons (P) - Vita

Elizabeth L Shively (F) - Vita

• I consistently receive strong teaching evaluations in my Sociology courses, both face-to-face and online.
• I have research forthcoming in a cross-disciplinary volume aimed at audiences in sociology, gender studies, and rural studies.
• I earned a graduate minor in Sociology from The George Washington University
• I have published peer-reviewed research in a cross-disciplinary journal aimed at audiences in sociology, gender studies, and media studies.
• I frequently present research at annual conferences of national organizations, including the American Studies Association and the National Women's Studies Association.

James Bartlett Stykes (F) - Vita

• I have published peer-reviewed journal articles and invited book chapters that apply a quantitative approach to family sociology and demography.

Melissa A Tackett-Gibson (F) - Vita

• Seven years work on state and federally funded drug abuse research projects.

Gene Louis Theodori (F) - Vita

• Worked in multi-race/multi-ethnic communities throughout Texas as the State Extension Specialist for Community Development.
• Published peer-reviewed articles examining levels of community participation among different racial groups.

Brooklynn Joy Wynveen (F) - Vita

• I have been interested in and involved with research and education in the fields of sociology and rural sociology since completing my master's work in Texas A&M's Program in Rural Sociology and Community Studies (2005-2007). While at A&M, I also earned the very first Community Development Certificate awarded to a student. My duties as a graduate research assistant and my own thesis research involved working on projects related to sociological/rural sociological interests, including human dimensions of energy development and water conservation. After leaving A&M, I worked as an Extension associate at Mississippi State University, where I worked on projects exploring the sociological aspects of heath care access, hurricane migration, and business resiliency. While at MSUES, I also began working toward my doctorate in their Department of Sociology. I took courses in social inequality and research methods, which I transferred into my terminal degree program at Clemson University. I continue to research topics of interest to the fields of sociology and rural sociology, and to improve my teaching skills and credentials through formative improvement feedback from my students, as well as professional development through attendance and presentations at teaching and learning conferences both in and out of state.

Mariah Jade Zimpfer (F) - Vita