It’s been a banner year for revisits, renewals, and updates from alumni. Read on to see where they went after IU, what they’ve done, and where they are now.

Bachelor of Arts Alumni

Michael K. Blanchard (B.A. 1989) writes, “I'm a passionate educator and advocate for Black liberation who believes in the power of education and community to drive change. In 2013, I began teaching as an adjunct instructor at Ivy Tech Community College. Currently, I work at Broward County Public Schools and my 38-year background spans various fields, including education, criminal justice, and business management. I have a doctorate from the University of New England 2018); an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University (2015) and BA in Sociology from Indiana University (1989). I have 11 years of experience at the community college level, and I'm eager to share my knowledge with students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in Business or Criminal Justice online or in the classroom here in South Florida.” Dr. Blanchard’s research publications include A Community Research Guide to Student Persistence: Research-based Strategies to Improve Student Persistence and articles that address social problems such as gun violence [1][2] and the failures of nursing home care. He also published The Black Book of Lamentations, covered by the South Bend Tribune.  Dr. Blanchard’s YouTube channel is fittingly labelled Da Teachas.

Mark W. Brown, (B.A. 1978) writes, “in 2005, I obtained a Master of Science degree in the field of Real Estate Appraisal from the University of Saint Thomas Graduate School of Business in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Also obtained the MAI Designation from the Appraisal Institute in 2003. I had a professional career in commercial real estate for about 25 years before I retired in 2019. With the current debates about the value of a liberal arts degree, I wanted to state that my studies in sociology provided an invaluable foundation for my career in business, which not only required financial and statistical analysis, but also market research and analysis in areas such as: demographics, economics, social trends, psychology, even religion and philosophy. Without an understanding of the human potential of self-delusion, irrational, self-destructive behavior, and irreconcilable contradictions, one would be adrift. The human condition is fraught with aporia, irony, and paradox. A liberal arts degree provides essential insight into these factors.”

William Corsaro (B.A. with honors 1970) writes, “I was later Robert H. Shaffer Class of 1967 Endowed Chair and now Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology at Indiana University from 1974 until 2013. I recently published in 2024 the 6th edition of The Sociology of Childhood (Sage) with Judson Everitt who received his Ph.D. in sociology from Indiana University in 2009. I have lived in Mesa, Arizona since my retirement from Indiana University in 2013. After a long and complex immigration process, I recently married Jamie Lee from Singapore on November 9, 2023, here in Mesa. We look forward to visiting Bloomington and the Department later this year.”

Jerome Krase, Ph.D. (BA 1967) As President of the European Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Jerome Krase is co-chairing a conference -- "Local and Global Impacts of the War in Ukraine." It is sponsored by the Institute of Sociological Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, and the European Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Conference and will be held in Prague on 6-7 June 2024. The conference aims to strengthen the knowledge base on the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine in local and global contexts, to report on how the world is radically changing in response to the war, and to discuss and communicate this enhanced knowledge base to the wider public. Professor Krase will be travelling to Prague, thanks to a Fulbright Specialist grant.

Mariah McGhee (B.A. 2014) writes, “I graduated from IU in 2014, and received a dual bachelor's degree in Sociology (with honors) and Criminal Justice. I went straight to law school at IU Robert H. McKinney and graduated in 2017. I now have my own law practice in Indy. We are focused on assisting Clients with creating opportunities of advancement. Our strategy is to assist, advise and support our Clients in fulfilling their vision for their personal lives and businesses through the practice of law. Sociology played a major role in the areas of law I selected and the type of practice I am building. One of my greatest passions as a lawyer has been my expungement work with clients who are looking for a new beginning and need to remove the stain that a criminal record places on them.” 

Andrea Naegle Shay (B.A. 1994) writes, “I’m a scripted television producer living in Los Angeles. I’ve produced a number of series including, “Benched” for USA starring Eliza Coupe, “Family Tools” for ABC starring Leah Remini and JK Simmons, “Insatiable” for Netflix starring Debby Ryan, and most recently, “The Watchful Eye” for Freeform starring Mariel Molino and Kelly Bishop as well as many others with more to come!”

Graduate Alumni

Rose M. Brewer (Ph.D., 1976) I am President elect of SSSP (Society for the Study of Social Problems. SSSP is one of the leading sociological associations in the US. I will be the President of SSSP in 2025. 

Curtis Child (Ph.D. 2011) I am finishing my third year as department chair at Brigham Young University. I’ve enjoyed teaching courses in qualitative methods and economic sociology, and my recent research projects include studies of multi-level marketing and plasma “donation.” I co-edited a volume on theories about the nonprofit sector, which was published this year by Cambridge University Press. I had the happy fortune of teaching sociology to a group of students in London two summers ago, and I am headed to Bolivia and Peru this spring to help out with a couple student projects.

Suzanna Crage (Ph.D. 2009) writes, “Since 2015 I have been faculty in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University, in Vancouver BC, Canada. In 2022 I was promoted to University Lecturer. (FYI: People have often said they are not sure what the title means. At SFU it is the highest level in the three-stage ladder for Teaching Faculty, akin to full Professor for Research Faculty.)

Pam Jackson (Ph.D. 1993). Pam was named the 2023 recipient of the James R. Greenley Award from the Society and Mental Health section of the Society for the Study of Social Problems. This award acknowledges "...distinguished contributions to the sociology of mental health." She is also the 2024 recipient of the Leo G. Reeder Award. This award "...recognizes scholarly contributions, especially a body of work displaying an extended trajectory of productivity that has contributed to theory and research in medical sociology...[and] acknowledges teaching, mentoring, and training as well as service to the medical sociology community broadly defined" and is granted by the Medical Sociology Section of the American Sociology Association.

Walt Jacobs (Ph.D. 1999) is a full professor of ethnic studies at California State University East Bay, and the interim co-executive director of StoryCenter, a non-profit organization that uses innovative story development practices and participatory media methods to support people in sharing personal narratives rooted in their own life experiences. 

Samuel H. Kye (Ph.D. 2020) will be joining Washington University in St. Louis as an Assistant Professor of Sociology beginning Summer 2024.

Bob Ladner (Ph.D. 1972) writes, “still working as head of Behavioral Science Research Corporation, still up to my ears in data and decisions. Just landed a new project doing clinical quality improvement research under the auspices of the Ryan White Program, a national HRSA-funded enterprise providing services (in Miami alone) to about 9,500 low-income persons with HIV/AIDS and concomitant substance use disorder, homelessness, and mental health issues. I’ve been doing applied sociological research since I moved to South Florida in 1973, and trying to stay one step ahead of constantly evolving federal regulations, a Florida governor who wants to abolish education, and a constantly changing social service client landscape. At 79 years of age, I should be retired, but I’m having too much fun.”

Marty Laubach (Ph.D. 2002) I got my degree in 2002 after a change of career. I did a postdoc at UConn and was hired into a tenure track position at Marshall University in 2004. I chaired the Department of Sociology and Anthropology from 2011 to 2019 and again as Acting Chair during AY 2023 when my successor was on Sabbatical. I am leaving Marshall University Research Collections with an archive and database of American Neopagan periodicals from the 1970s to 1990s that demonstrate the development of religious ideas throughout the community prior to the internet. Further development of that database will be a retirement project.

Erin J. Maher (Ph.D. 200) Has received three awards this academic year. She won the National Award for Public Sociology at ASA in 2023, the Women and Gender Studies Center for Social Justice award for Faculty Commitment to Social Justice Research, and won the Vice President for Research and Partnership’s Annual Award for Excellence in Research Grants (given to faculty who have brought in over $1 million in funding in a given year.)

Ann McCranie (Ph.D. 2016) is now working as Associate Director of Research and Training at the Indiana University Irsay Institute.

Jamie Oslawski-Lopez (Ph.D. 2019) was recently awarded the Claude Rich Excellence in Teaching Award from IU Kokomo.

Natasha Quadlin (Ph.D. 2017) is a recipient of the William T. Grant Scholars Award for 2024-29. She will use the award to receive training in qualitative methods, and to conduct research on reducing socioeconomic and racial inequality in the college-to-work transition.

Nicholas J. Rowland (Ph.D. 2007) was named among Penn State's Distinguished Professors. He is also currently Penn State's Academic Trustee on the University's Board of Trustees.

Landon Schnabel (Ph.D. 2019) Received the Early Career Award from the American Sociological Association and was included on  Indiana University's "20 under 40" alumni list.

Royce A. Singleton, Jr. (Ph.D. 1973) writes, for more than a decade after I retired from teaching, I remained active professionally, reviewing manuscripts, consulting, and co-authoring multiple editions of two textbooks on social research methods. I began to shift my writing to non-academic publications in 2020, when I wrote three op-eds on misinformation. Then, in late 2021, I began writing a trade book about my parents’ experience during World War II. Published in March 2024, At Home and At Sea covers the 13 months that my father, a Navy fighter pilot, was at sea. The vast literature on naval history focuses on the actions of a few “great men”—admirals, generals, presidents—and omits the everyday lives of millions of people like my parents caught in the sweep of history. My book tells the story of the war in the Pacific as well as its impact in the heartland of America from the perspective of “ordinary people.”

Regina Werum (Ph.D. 1995) In 2023, two IU Sociology alumni -- Dr. Regina Werum (1995, now at UNL) and Dr. Simon Cheng (2003, now a U Conn) -- together with Dr. Christina Steidl (2012 Emory University PhD, now at University of Alabama, Huntsville) received a multi-year collaborative research grant from the National Science Foundation: “Trajectories and Transitions: Military Service as a Gendered Pathway into STEM?”

In 2024, Dr. Regina Werum received the Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award