Education
Ph.D. Sociology, University of California, Irvine, 2002
M.A. Comparative Culture, University of California, Irvine, 1995
Biography
I have been a member of the Sociology Program at CSUCI since 2007. I served as Chair of Sociology and Anthropology from 2013 to 2020, leading the programs through an era of growth and transformation – including a signature collective accomplishment in the thorough redesign of our curriculum. I also served as Faculty Director for CSUCI’s Center for Community Engagement (2012 through 2019), helping to promote best practices in service-learning and creating CBR@CSUCI (an annual digital volume for community-based research). I recently completed a term as President of the Pacific Sociological Association, focusing my presidency on the theme of "Democracy in a Divided Society."
My core research addresses movements for social change, focusing on social movement strategies across the long arc of pre- and post-Civil Rights contention. I am engaged in a long-term project focusing on the history of the Orange County Human Relations Commission and its role in guiding dramatic change in that region.
My teaching assignments focus on core areas of the Sociology curriculum (e.g., Social Inequalities and our Capstone course), and Social Movements. My teaching is informed by a deep commitment to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and have conducted research on topics such as quantitative literacy in the introductory course, and conducting community-based research in the capstone course.
When I am not working, I enjoy cultivating my (limited) musical skills playing traditional Irish music, and (most of all) spending time with my partner Brooke (who also teaches at CSUCI) and our dog Mabel.
Representative Courses Taught
- SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology
- SOC 300 Social Stratification/Inequalities
- SOC 352 Social Movements
- SOC 499 Sociology Capstone
Scholarship
Keywords
Social Movements, Race/Ethnicity, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning