New Faculty Profiles:

Dr. Daniel Bauer
The USI Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Studies welcomes Dr. Daniel Bauer as Assistant Professor of Anthropology! 

Dr. Bauer received his doctorate from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he studied the economic development and other issues of development.  Before attending graduate school, Dr. Bauer worked in Ecuador since 2002, and much of his research is focused in this region.  He considers himself to be a “Latin Americanist” and is currently pursuing several research projects, including translation of articles and studies on the collective expression of cultural identities in Ecuador.  This semester he is teaching Introduction to Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, and a seminar on Anthropology and Development.

Dr. Melinda York
The USI Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Studies welcomes Dr. Melinda York as Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice!

Dr. York received her doctorate from Washington State University; her thesis was entitled “Violence Against Women: The Dynamics Associated with Traditional Gender Attitudes and Social Capital.”  Her research focuses on two important areas in Criminal Justice: courts and criminal law, specifically gender and race issues as well as violence against women.  Currently Dr. York is working on publishing her dissertation and will have an article in print this month on Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Victim Impact Statement (VIS).  Dr. York will also be the new faculty sponsor for the Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice Studies Club.  This fall Dr. York is teaching courses on Police and Society and Violence Against Women.

Where are Sociology Graduates Today??

Students often wonder what they can do with a Bachelor’s degree or a minor in Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Studies.  Several recent graduates of outstanding quality show the great benefits of studying Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Studies while at USI.

Lauren Anderson, who graduated in spring 2009 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, is continuing her education and pursuing as Master’s degree at Ohio University.  An excellent student at USI, Lauren was offered a graduate assistant position and plans to study gender inequalities during her graduate program.

Jessica Lantaff also graduated in spring 2009 with Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Political Science.  Jessica decided to pursue a career in law and is currently attending the University of Cincinnati College of Law.  She plans to study public interest law and potentially work as a prosecutor or public defender in the future.

The Criminal Justice Studies Major Receives Final Approval!

The Criminal Justice Studies major is here! The Indiana Higher Learning Commission unanimously approved the major on November 14, 2008. Students can now declare their major as "Pre-CJS" or "CJS" by meeting with any department faculty if their GPA is 2.0 or higher.

All classes for the new major have been available for the last year, and we expect to graduate several students this spring with the CJS degree. If you are interested in this major, full program details, including the major check sheets, are available on this site.

Read the news release...

Honors Day & Achievement Awards

Students are encouraged to apply for Department, College, and University-wide honor awards. The department selects three top students to receive achievement awards, one in each of our programs.  If you are interested in being considered for any of these awards, please download and fill out the application and submit it to Ronda Priest or Pam Moore by November 20, 2009. (Download Application formats: RTF – DOC )

Check out the MySpace and Facebook department sites

The department sites have been created by students for students and alumni (although some professors are on Facebook and MySpace too).  The sites are under our old name still (USI SOCIOLOGY) but include all of our majors.  Regular updates and announcements will be posted there, along with a virtual meeting place for our students and the SAC student club.