------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inside this issue:

Upcoming Dates


Trivia Question:   


What do the following topics have in common and what do they have to do with  our department?

"Children at Risk:  Racial Diversity, Poverty, and the American Future".

"Rural Communities: Building a Future in the Shadow of the Past."

"Geography of Opportunity in Rural Schools."



------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joint Research Project with University of Ljubljana & SDSU SociologySlovenia

Professors from University of Ljubljana (located in Republic of Slovenia) and SDSU's own Sociology and Rural Student are joining forces. The proposed research project aims to focus on limited aspects of executive leadership in rural Slovenian and South Dakotan local communities, referring both to the institutional settings within which local community political leaders operate and contextual factors (gender, age, education, career paths, etc.) of the leaders. We will ask the obvious question "Who are leaders of rural local communities" in both institutional settings, Slovenian "rural" local communities with less than 20,000 inhabitants (but most of them have less that 10,000 inhabitants) and functionally comparable local government units in the US, i.e. counties with less than 20,000 inhabitant (after the 2014 elections South Dakota has 57 counties with less than 20,000 inhabitants). We will analyze contextual factors of rural local communities' leaders in both counties, based on already gathered data, empirical research and publicly available data; if needed, we plan collect some limited additional data in both countries.
 
We anticipate a two-year study, with research teams in both regions. In Slovenia, the research team will include assistant professor Simona Kukovic, professors Miro Hacek and Marjan Brezovsek (all PhD) from University of Ljubljana. In the United States, the research team will include professor Mary Emery, professor Meredith Redlin, assistant professor Jessica Schad (all PhD) and possibly one graduate student researcher, all from South Dakota State University. Both teams will meet face-to-face twice during the study, but regular contacts and shared data findings will be ongoing throughout the project.

Mary Emery's pic improved
Dr. Mary Emery
Dr. Meredith Redlin
Dr. Jessica Ulrich-Schad

Congratulations are in order!
Congratulations to the following Master Students
who officially graduated at the end of the fall term:Graduates
 
 
graduation_cap.jpg
Whitney Adler,
M.S. in Community Development, Fall 2015. Applied Research Paper: Maternal Prenatal Stressors:
Overcrowding and Depression.

graduation_cap.jpg
Just
in Heubrock,  
M.S. in Sociology, Fall 2015. Coursework and applied oral examination.
 
pumpkin_on_a_leaf_2.jpg
graduation_cap.jpg
Stephanie Paluch,  
M.S. in Community Development,Fall 2015. Applied Research Paper: Millennial Impact and Engagement
 on Non-Profit Boards and Communities.

graduation_cap.jpg
Julie Young,
M.S. in Community Development, Fall 2015. Applied Research Paper: Educating the Invisible.
______________________________
Congratulations to Dr. Ulirch-Schad Schad
Bakken Oil Survey

Dr. Jessica Ulrich-Schad will be conducting a mail survey in the Bakken oil field area to better understand residents' perceptions of community and environmental issues.  The purpose of the project will be to better understand how residents think the oil boom is changing communities in the area economically, socially, and environmentally and compare what is happening in the Bakken to other rural communities.


CLUB CORNER
 
The CJ Club is having a guest speaker Wed, Feb. 17th, at 6pm. The speaker is a Child Protective Services agent who will talk about her job, what they do for kids, and answer questions. It is in Wagner 167. Everyone is welcome to come. More info: CPS Agent Flier 
 
The next CJ Club meeting is March 1 at 7 pm in Wagner 159. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Human Services Club MeetingsHSC
 
February  
 
 
This coming April 14th and 15th the SDSU Sociology & Rural Studies Department is holding a symposium! We are very pleased to have these three speakers presenting on the topics:

Dr. Mil Duncan, a sociologist whose work has focused on rural poverty, social change and development, will join us to talk about "Rural Communities: Building a Future in the Shadow of the Past."
 
Dr. John Logan, Professor of Sociology and Director of the initiative on Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences at Brown University, will speak on "Geography of Opportunity in Rural Schools."
 
And, former Jackrabbit, Dr. Daniel T. Lichter, returns to focus on "Children at Risk:  Racial Diversity, Poverty, and the American Future".
 
 
Trivia Answers Answers



snowman_snowy_dec.jpg


Upcoming Events:Dates

MSS Annual Meeting in Chicago  March 23 - 26
THEME:  Inequality, Injustice, and Intersectionality
NOTE: Advance registration and discounted hotel reservations CLOSE March 1st!
http://www.themss.org/2016registration.html 

90th Anniversary Sociology Symposium 
April 14-15, 2016 Brookings, SD 
 
Spring 2016 commencement, Saturday, May 7th in Frost Area 
Undergraduate ceremony for Sociology majors will be at 1:00 pm
       (other majors will be split between 10:00am and 1:00pm) 
Graduate ceremony will be at 4:00 pm