South Dakota State University  
Sociology
     & Rural Studies
    April 2012            
Campanile during foggy sunrise
A recent foggy morning


Important Dates

Last Day of Classes:

Fri. April 27

 

Final Exams: April 30 - May 4

  

Sociology Awards Ceremony:

Thursday, May 3, 2012 @ 1pm

Tompkins Alumni Center

 

126th Annual Commencement: Sat., May 5 in Frost Arena:

@ 10am for Undergraduates;  

@ 2:30pm for Graduate levels. 

 

Grades Due:  

Wed., May 9

 

Fall Semester begins:

Monday, Aug. 27 @ 4:00pm 

  Joseph Faltemier Honored With Memorial Scholarship  
Joseph Faltmier

    Joseph Faltemier grew up in Sioux City, IA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Morningside College where he eventually taught 13 years and as Department Head of Sociology.

 

    Joe taught 28 years at South Dakota State University in the Department of Sociology & Rural Studies and especially enjoyed assisting students and coordinating their internships. This year a scholarship was given in his memory by his widow Sandra, of Brookings.

 

    Emily Johnson was chosen by the Sociology Scholarship Committee as the recipient of the Joseph Faltemier Memorial Scholarship.

 

Dan Cates awarded Joseph F. Nelson Undergraduate Mentorship

A BIG Congratulations to Daniel Cates whose proposal to the Joseph F. Nelson Undergraduate Mentorship was selected to receive the generous funding support of $2,500 from the USDA Honors in Agriculture Grant for summer 2012.  

 

Cates will be using his Joseph F. Nelson award to do a "longitudinal study of the economic inequality in the James River Valley." He plans to begin his work in June and says he "can't wait" to get started. 

 

Dan describes his project: "Basically I want to see how intense the divide between rich and poor is in this generally economically challenged area. Gini scores will provide the raw data that I'll be working with." 

 

Dr. Michael McCurry will serve as Dan's faculty mentor for the program.  

  

USDA Honors in Agriculture Grant recipients must present a poster of their research at Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Day (URSCAD) during April, 2013.  In addition, Grant recipients are also encouraged to submit an article based on their funded work to SDSU's Journal of Undergraduate Research in spring 2013.   

                         -j.mueller 

Quick Links
  

 

Congratulations Masters and PhD Graduates

James Burnett  PhD  

Social Deviance

Social Factors Associated with Disadvantaged First Year College Students' Retention and Academic Success           

Summer 2011      

          

Stacey Trushenski-Carlson  PhD

Social Deviance

South Dakota Female Deer Hunters: Initiation, Motivation, Constraint and Opportunity, and General Satisfaction       

Summer 2011                      

 

Lesa Jarding  MS  

Community Development ~ GPIDEA non-thesis Masters            

Spring 2012                       

 

Stacy Sanders  MS

Native American Sex Offenders: Residing in Disorganization           

Spring 2012                             

 

Stephan Troskey  MS  

Community Development ~ GPIDEA

Civic Participation among Hispanic Residents in Marshalltown, IA 

Spring 2012        

 

Umit Shrestha  MS

Women and Water: Meeting Nepalese Women's Strategic and Practical Gender Needs       

Spring 2012        
Summer Institute in 
Survey Research Techniques

   The Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques will be held June 4-July 27, 2012, on the campus of the University of Michigan.   

  

   It is a teaching program of the Survey Research Center at the Institute for Social Research.  

For more info visit their website:


Society for the Study of Social Problems

The 62nd Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems will be held from August 16-18, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt Denver Hotel.  Future details available at the link below:

 

Society for the Study of Social Problems  

 

Sociology Graduate

Program Creates  

Colleagues Across Miles

A Annes
Alexis Annes recently enjoying the Pyrenees Mountains

    Alexis Annes first came to South Dakota State University in the summer of 2002 as an intern in the Animal Science Department under the supervision of Bob Thaler. Annes, a resident of France, came as part of an exchange program between SDSU and ENSAT ("Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse").

 

   The exchange program between SDSU and ENSAT (an engineering school located in Toulouse, France) began in 1990. Since that time, between 10-20 students from ENSAT have come to SDSU each summer to complete an internship. Until this past year, our own Sociology professor, Dr. Meredith Redlin, served for six years as SDSU's coordinator for the French Summer Internship program.

 

   Annes explains his desire to learn Midwest culture is what led him to SDSU:

 

   "When I came, I was an undergraduate student at ENSAT. I did my internship at the Animal Sciences department where I worked under the supervision of Bob Thaler. At this time, I have to admit that what motivated me to come at SDSU was to get to know better the US culture (more than the internship itself).  

 

   I had always been a huge fan of US contemporary literature, especially of Jim Harrison's novels (Dalva was at this time one of my favorite novels). So I decided to get 'a real life experience' of living in the American Midwest (most of Jim Harrison's novels take place in the Midwest).

 

   I really enjoyed my summer experience at SDSU and started considering coming back later on (after completed my undergraduate studies and my masters' degree). Two months was just too short to get this 'real-life experience' of the American Midwest!"

 

   After returning to France, Annes obtained his undergraduate degree and began working on a Masters' degree in Rural Studies. "In the meantime, I applied to SDSU grad school to enter the Sociology Department's PhD program. I was accepted and granted an assistantship in the Sociology Department. After finishing my Masters' degree, I came back to Brookings and started working on my PhD in August 2004."

 

   With Dr. Redlin as his advisor, Alexis completed his studies, defended his dissertation and officially earned his PhD in the Spring of 2009.  

 

   He returned to France where, since September 2010, Annes has been working at the Ecole d'Ingénieurs de Purpan (an engineering school  that is part of the University of Toulouse and specializes in agricultural and biological sciences) as an assistant professor of Sociology.

 

   Regarding research, Annes states "during the past few years, I have essentially been publishing articles and book chapters from my dissertation (I have been working closely with Dr. Redlin on that)." 

 

   "Right now I am looking at developing a new research project on women and agriculture in France and the United States. I will be working on that with Dr Redlin and Dr. Wynne Wright, a colleague of both Dr Redlin and I, from Michigan State University."

 

   Dr. Redlin added, "It was great to work with Alexis through graduate school and it's wonderful to be able to continue to work together!  Being able to continue shared research is a great example of how our graduate program allows us to train not only future sociologists, but also future colleagues".

-Joni Mueller 


 


Congratulations to the following Spring Graduates:

Maggie S. Aldrich 

minor: Geography

 

Kari L. Anderson ~ Human Resources 

minors: Criminal Justice & Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations

 

Mercedes M. Bassett ~ Human Resources & Human Services 

      minor: Business

 

Lyndsey M. Costantini ~ Human Services

 

Brittany M. Grode                          

 

Kayla M. Haigh ~ Human Services

 

Glen M. Healy   

minor: Criminal Justice

 

Alison R. Heimbaugh ~ Human Resources           

 

Charlotte R. Heinz ~ Human Resources             

minor: Peace & Conflict Studies

(double major in Political Science) 

 

Dustin R. Holt ~ Human Services

 

Sarah N. Hubbard ~ Human Services

minors: Criminal Justice & Psychology

 

Brittany R. Kenzy  

minors: Criminal Justice & Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations

 

Brent J. Kramer ~ Human Resources             

minor: Business

 

Sietse Landman                  

minors: Spanish & Geography

 

Jordan G. Maag ~ Human Services

minors: Criminal Justice & Psychology

 

Drew M. Mikkelsen                         

minor: Criminal Justice

 

Nichole L. Roghair                            

minors: Business & Accounting

(double major in Spanish) 

 

Sara L. Saathoff               

 

Rick J. Schiley 

minor: Criminal Justice

 

Kelsey L. Schreck ~ Human Services

minors: Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations & Criminal Justice

 

Kylie A. Schroer  

minor: Religion

 

ReAnn M. Smith ~ Human Services

minor: Theatre

 

Mary K. St. Pierre                            

 

Rayna C. Summers ~ Human Resources

minor: Psychology

 

Sarah E. Thaler ~ Human Services

minors: Health Science, Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations

 

Jessica R. VanGerpen  

minors: Criminal Justice & Consumer Affairs


Breanna N. White

Your Gifts Are Appreciated !

Student demographics indicate that many students meet the requirements for scholarship support, yet our funds are very limited.  

 

Give now and support the department and its students!  

 

Friends of the Sociology and Rural Studies Program have an opportunity to support student scholarships, help graduate students with presentations, and contribute to department activities by donating to the Sociology Fund at the SDSU Foundation.  

SDSU sign



Congratulations to the 2012  Scholarship and Award Recipients:
(Criteria listed is a highlight of the factors considered in making awards and not a complete list)

  

Douglas Chittick Memorial Scholarship:  applicant displays leadership qualities, participates in extra-curricular and/or outside activities, and have a reputation of unquestionable character.    

              Daniel Cates & Alice Klopstad

 

Joseph Faltemier Memorial Scholarship:  is awarded to a worthy Sociology major in honor of long time Sociology professor, Joseph Faltemier. 

Emily Johnson

 

Kayongo-Male Family Scholarship in the Department of Sociology & Rural Studies: displayed leadership qualities and qualities consistent with academic excellence; demonstrate in a 350-word statement, an understanding of the relevance of C. Wright Mills' sociological imagination in their own lives or in understanding a selected social problem.

  Jonathan Wallner

 

Ted J. Larson Memorial Award: This award is given annually to the outstanding graduating senior in Sociology from SDSU on the basis of academic achievement as reflected in highest overall grade point average.  

Nichole Roghair

 

Robert L. McNamara Graduate Scholar Award:  Submission of a scholarly paper (3 copies) to be judged in competition by the faculty of the department.       

Mugisha M. Matabazi

 

Marvin Riley Memorial Scholarship in Sociology:display qualities consistent with academic excellence as judged by SDSU & Rural Sociology faculty members.

Kirsten Merchant

 

Howard M. Sauer Family Scholarship in Sociology:  given annually to an undergraduate student with at least a 3.0 cumulative and major GPA.              

Stephanie Kroeze

 

Robert T. and Mary K. Wagner Graduate Scholarship in Sociology: The recipient must show promise to the field of sociology and demonstrate involvement in regional and/or national sociological association(s). 

Trenton Ellis

   

Robert T. and Mary K. Wagner Graduate Scholarship in Sociology: The recipient must show promise to the field of sociology and demonstrate involvement in regional and/or national sociological association(s). 

Joy Kobia     

 

We hope you enjoy this issue of SDSU's Sociology & RuralStudies newsletter.  

If you have any news tips or information that you would like to see included in a future newsletter, please contact us.

~~~

We love to hear from our Alumni and find out what you have been up to!

~~~ 

SDSU Sociology & Rural Studies 
Joni Mueller, Secretary & Newsletter Editor 
SDSU Scobey Hall 226; Box 504 
Brookings, SD 57007

 

 Joni.mueller@sdstate.edu                                               (605)688-4133  

 

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