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GRADUATE STUDENTS
Below
is a list of our graduate students, including
those on the market and those
already off!
More information
about our MA and PhD programs can be found on the Graduate
Program Page.
.
Graduate
Students on the Job Market
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Lisa Dilks,
M.I.S., Statistics, University of South Carolina, 2008;
M.A., Sociology, University of Wyoming, 2008; B.A., Women's
Studies, University of Wyoming, 2003. Lisa's research
interests center on social psychology, group processes, and
law and society. Projects include economic theories of
discrimination and small group theories of inequality using
data from the reality television show Survivor, the
effects of status and emotions on criminal sentencing, and
the role of social and political factors in Supreme Court
decision making. Her dissertation examines how the framing
of status interventions in evaluative settings affects rates
of status-based discrimination.
Email:
dilks@mailbox.sc.edu
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Curriculum Vitae
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Kyle
Irwin, BS University of Tennessee, 1999, MA University of
Missouri-St. Louis, 2003. Kyle’s main interests in sociology are
social psychological, and center primarily on situations that pose
tension between individual and collective interests, or social
dilemmas. His current research focuses on how emotions (especially
sympathy), social identity, and norm conformity generate cooperation
in social dilemma situations. His dissertation focuses on the
genesis of social identification in social dilemmas via conformity
to group norms. Email:
irwink@mailbox.sc.edu
- Curriculum Vitae
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Christine Witkowski,
M.A., Geography and Environmental Studies, NortheasternIllinois University, Chicago, IL, 1998, M.S. & B.S. Education,
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 1993. Christine's primary
interests are in the areas of social psychology, social movements,
social change, environmental sociology, social identity, and
rationality. Currently, Christine is exploring the intersection
between communication, message framing, and social change. Email: CSWITKOWSKI@YAHOO.COM
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Pamela Emanuelson,
BS Sociology and Biology, Converse College, MA University of
South Carolina. Current research interests include the study of interorganizational networks and exchange processes. Email:
pamelaemanuelson@juno.com
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CURRENT Graduate
Students
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Hatice Akca,
BS Sociology, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul,
Turkey, 2005. Main interests are currently in Cultural
Studies, Globalization, Political Sociology, Women Studies,
and Religious Sociology. I specifically studied on Political
Modernization of Turkey for my Dissertation. Email:
haticeakca@gmail.com |
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Emily
Arnold, BA, University of South Carolina,
Columbia, South Carolina, 2004. Emily's main interests in sociology
center on inequality, migration, and status. Currently, Emily is
examining the migration of illegal and legal workers between the
United States and Mexico. Emily has prior work experience in social
services with the Spanish speaking population. Email:
EARNOLD1@sc.rr.com
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Nick
Berigan ,
M.A. Sociology, University of South
Carolina 2008; B.S. Sociology, University of Iowa 2006.
Nick's research interests are in social psychology, group
processes, and mathematical sociology. More specifically,
Nick is interested in distributive justice, collective
action, and conflict resolution. His current research
examines how conceptions of fairness emerge in mixed-motive
settings.
Email: berigan@mailbox.sc.edu |
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Tim
Bertoni, BA History, USC 2002. Tim's current interests include
historical-comparative sociology, structural sociology, and
Ecological-Evolutionary Theory. He is preparing an MA thesis on
obituary notices in newspapers using insights from
evolutionary theory. Email: TJBERTONI@wmconnect.com
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Matthew
Alexhan Cazessus, BA Sociology and BS Psychology Stetson
University2001. Matthew previously worked as a case manager and
supervisor at Covenant House
Florida, a crisis shelter for homeless
and at-risk youth in Orlando, for four years. He is presently a first-year master’s student and research
assistant. His
sociological interests include crisis resolution, subculture
identity and societal implications of new technology. Email:
cazessus@yahoo.com
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Yamilette Chacon,
BA, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina, Associate of
Arts, Anthropology, El Camino College, Torrance, California. My interests in Race/ Ethnic/Minority
Relations,
Immigration, Stratification/mobility, Social Change, Religion, and
Indigenous Peoples of Latin America. I
have conducted anthropological fieldwork among the Cotacachi and
Otavaleño Indians of Ecuador. Email: chacony@mailbox.sc.edu |

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April Dove, B.A., Sociology, University
of South Carolina Upstate, 2005. April’s interests include social
movements, social control, cultural and collective memory, and
museum creation. Her most recent research has focused on the
creation of southern civil rights museums during the 1990s. April is
currently working on her Masters thesis, which focuses on the
mobilization and surveillance strategies of two civilian border
patrol groups operating on the US/Mexico border. Email: aldove1@yahoo.com
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Tabitha Epperson, Tabitha Epperson, BA in history and
political science, University of Southern Hattiesburg,
Mississippi, 2006. Tabitha's main interests in sociology are
family structure and sibling relationships. Currently,
Tabitha is the graduate assistant for the Trio Program's
Opportunity Scholars Program. Email:
tdepperson@gmail.com
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Lynn Frederick, BA Social Sciences/History, Chadron State
College, 1974; MSW, University of Iowa, 1979. The Social Service
field has been one of Lynn's major interest. She has written an article on the health impaired elderly
project for the Southern Gerontologist Newsletter. Lynn was also a
featured speaker at the Fourth National Forum on Research in
Aging. Email:
frederlm@mailbox.sc.edu
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Eric
Gladstone, BS Sociology,
Grand
Valley
State
University
, 2007. Eric’s primary interests revolve around
experimental social psychology and evolutionary
sociology/psychology/anthropology. More specifically, Eric
wishes to seek out the evolutionary and physiological
mechanisms underlying social behavior. Behavioral phenomena
of particular interest are: egoism and altruism, trust and
distrust, religion, sexuality, collective action and
aggression,
computer simulations and complexity theory. Email: cyclicalreasoning@gmail.com
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Ashley Harrell,
BA Psychology, University of South Carolina
2008. Ashley's current interests include social psychology,
particularly pro-social behavior and religion. Email:
HARRELLA@mailbox.sc.edu |
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Samantha Hauptman,
BSc, Jacksonville State University, Alabama, 1997, Master of
Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina, 1999. During
and after completing her MCJ, Samantha worked in
administration at the South Carolina Department of Corrections
for 6 years. Her
sociological interests include criminal/social deviance,
social control, immigration, and globalization. Samantha is
presently teaching in a technical college. Email: SAMRICH@MYEXCEL.COM
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Kathryn
Dixon Jost, Master's in Taxation, 1996; MBA, 1981; BS
Accounting & Finance, 1977 - University of South Carolina.
Professional certifications: Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). As a former investment professional, Kathryn is
interested in how values related to money are
transmitted within families at all income levels, how values
about money support or displace pro-social behavior, and the
most effective means of promoting responsible
behavior regarding financial issues such as consumer
credit and investing for retirement. Email: kathryn.jost@gmail.com
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Colby King, BA
WestminsterCollege, New
Wilmington
,PA, 2007. Colby
completed an Honors project at
WestminsterCollegetitled, “Too Much Politics or Too Much Beer: Investigating
Cultural Interaction in a Mixed American Indian and
Caucasian Community,” in which he used interviews and
participant observation to further develop models of
cultural interaction. His
interests include qualitative methods, cultural interaction
and assimilation, urban sociology, subcultures, and
deviance. Email:
kingcr@mailbox.sc.edu. |
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Naomi Kolberg, B.A., Sociology, Bloomsburg University,
Bloomsburg, PA 2004. Interests include aspects of social psychology,
stratification and inequality, and sociology of religion. Naomi is
currently an assistant of Dr. Higgins. Email: kolberg@mailbox.sc.edu
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Peter Lawrence,
BA in Sociology, Minor in Psychology, University of South
Carolina. My main interests are in experimental social psychology
with an emphasis on prosocial and altruistic behavior. I was a Chef
for 20 years, before returning to college, cooking in large 5 star
hotels across the country. I intend to pursue my PhD in sociology. Email:
lawrencp@mailbox.sc.edu
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Danielle
Lewis, BA Psychology with a minor in Sociology,
University of South Carolina with Honors from the South
Carolina Honors College, Columbia, South Carolina, 2006. My
main area of interest is prosocial behavior. I am currently
a research and teaching assistant for David Willer. Email: Mullett02@aol.com
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Marecus
Matthews, B.A. Sociology, University of South Carolina.
Marecus's main interests include: College-educated
African Americans' perceptions of race effects on life
outcomes; Hip Hop music and culture as a tool for
upward social mobility; Structural and psychological
barriers to productive Black Fatherhood; The effects of
Misogynistic views of women in hip hop music; The effects of
living in public housing; and, African Americans and
Sociological reasoning for conversions to Islam. Email: mbm_kos@hotmail.com
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Shannon
McDonough, BA, Miami University, Ohio, 2003.
Shannon's interests include social stratification, race/ethnicity,
and gender. Currently, Shannon is investigating the perpetuation of
racial stereotypes in advertisements. Email:
Smcdonough1@sc.rr.com
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Tucker McGrimmon,
BSc Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK,
Tucker's main interests in sociology center on experimental social
psychology, game theory, and mathematical sociology. Tucker is
currently investigating social learning and public information,
games played on random graphs, network externalities, games of
status, and the link between sociological and economic approaches to
terrorism via evolutionary approaches. Email:
mcgrimmo@mailbox.sc.edu
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Jennifer McLeer,
B.A. Psychology and Religious Studies, Manhattan College,
2007. Jennifer's main interests are in social psychology,
sociology of religion and evolutionary psychology. More
specifically, this includes altruism, morality, punishment
and secularization. Jennifer is concurrently pursuing her
M.A. in Religious Studies on a thesis exploring supernatural
punishment in relation to the second order collective action
problem. Email:
jmcmac205@gmail.com |
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Alison
McLetchie, B.Sc. Psychology (2000),South CarolinaStateUniversity
; M.A. Anthropology and Certificate in Museum Management (2003),
University
of South Carolina.M.A. thesis: "Incidents of Douglarization: The Worship
of la Divina Pastora in Trinidad
." My major interests remain in the areas of ethnicity, race
and identity formation in Trinidad and Tobago
(and the wider Caribbean
); religion; calypso and Creolization. Email:
amcletchie@msn.com
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Kerry Mcloughlin,
BS Sociology and Criminology, Barry University, 1997; MA
Sociology, University of South Carolina, 1999. Kerry’s interests
in sociology center around education, social theory, family, social
stratification, and ethnic / race relations. Written work includes
“Assimilation,
Cultural Pluralism and Multiculturalism: Searching for Democratic Social Order.” Email: KMCLOUG@HOTMAIL.COM
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Mary F. McKenzie, M.S. North Carolina State University.
Research interests include criminology, deviance, and family sociology.
Mary is also a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of North Carolina
at Charlotte. Email: mfmck@attglobal.net
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Dayang
Suria Muliah, MA, Wichita State University, Kansas. My main
interests in Sociology center on gender, women's studies, and
immigrations. I also have prior work experience at the University
Malaysia Sabah (Malaysia). Email:
yahmulia@yahoo.com
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Joseph
Park, B.A. Sociology, University of South Carolina,
Columbia, 2006. Joseph's interests in sociology center
around deviance, networks, and power structures. Email:
joep3000@gmail.com
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Darwin
Ramsey-Tamar. Darwin is currently serving as a fulltime
temporary Sociology Instructor at Winthrop University. She
is teaching Corrections, Criminology, Introduction to
Archaeology, Principles of Sociology, and Archaeological
Field Methods. Email: ramseyd@winthrop.edu
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Ryan
Reynolds, BA Sociology, University of South Carolina, Columbia,
South Carolina, 2006. Ryan's main interests in sociology are the
study of science, religion, stratification, game theory, and social
interactions in general. He is currently working with Dr. Nolan.
Email:
Reynoljr@mailbox.sc.edu
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Chris Robinson,
Masters of Divinity, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond,
VA; Bachelors degree, Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana. Chris
served as a part-time youth pastor at Forest Lake Presbyterian
Church in Columbia and is presently an ordained minister. His
interest include the way in which today’s culture has impacted
family life. Email: crobinson@signalpres.org
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Alex Rose,
BA (Honors) University of South Carolina. He wrote an Honors
Thesis on the standing of the legal profession, which
greatly influenced his decision not to go to law school and
attend graduate school instead. He is interested in
sociology of law, social control, and theory. Email:
ROSEAS@mailbox.sc.edu |
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Stefanie Schwartzkopf,
BA, Augusta
State
University
, 2005. My main interests include race and gender inequality,
immigration, and education. Being a native of Germany, I hope to tie my German history into my studies somehow as well.
Email:
Stef1916@yahoo.com
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Hyo-Hwan Song,
BA and MA, Chonbuk National University, South Korea, 1986 and
1992, MA, University of South Carolina, 2000. I'm interested
in social policy, political economy, and historical sociology.
Currently I'm working on the relationship between the state and
civil society focusing on the health reform policy in South
Korea. Email: HSONG12@MAILBOX.SC.EDU
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Mike
Steketee, BS Sociology, Grand Valley State
University, Michigan, 2005. Main interests are currently in Social
Psychology, Globalization, Social Networks, and Economic
Sociology. I am currently working on my MA thesis and other projects including:
globalization as evidenced by global trade networks,
emotions and social dilemmas, and social identity and
Scientology. Email: Steketee@mailbox.sc.edu |
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William Tinney, Jr. A.S. (Criminal Justice, 1993), B.A.
(Sociology, 1996), University of South Carolina-Aiken; M.A.
(Sociology, 1999), State University of West Georgia. Ph.D.
Candidate (A.B.D.), University of South Carolina. Will's
main interests in sociology center on social demography, deviance
and social control. Will is currently an assistant professor at
Black Hills State University in South Dakota. Email:
paladin72@aol.com
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Jennifer
Triplett, BA, Oglethorpe University, Georgia, 2004.
Jennifer's main sociological interests involve various aspects of
social psychology, race and ethnicity, gender studies, class
inequality, and children's and family studies. She is currently
assisting in bargaining and negotiation research. Email:
jennylynntriplett@hotmail.com |
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Leia Velasquez, BA Psychology and Sociology, University of
Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 2004. Her research interests include social
psychology, group process, and collective action. Email:
velasqul@mailbox.sc.edu |
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Qian
Zhang, BA Sociology at Huazhong
Normal University,
China
, 2004; MA Sociology at
Wuhan University
,China, 2004. My main interests are social stratification, family research
and social Psychology. Currently, I am working as a graduate assistant
for Dr. Stepanikova to do research about the effect of
Patient-Physician encounter. Email:
zhqwind@gmail.com |

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FORMER GRADUATE STUDENTS
Pamela Ray Koch (2008) Assistant Professor,
Department of Sociology, Hope College
Suzanne Sutphin (2008) Research Associate, Center
for Child and Family Studies, University of South Carolina
Ying Yang (2008) Assistant Professor, Department of
Sociology and Anthropology, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Wenqian Dai (2008) Assistant Professor, Department
of Sociology, University of South Dakota
John Eagle Shutt (2007) Assistant Professor,
Department of Justice Administration, University of Louisville
Alex O. Miller (2007) Associate Professor,
Department of Sociology, University of South Carolina-Lancaster
Chris Robinson (2007) Associate Pastor of Youth &
Families, Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church
Holly Ventura (2006) Assistant Professor,
Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas-San Antonio
Sangyoub Park (2004) Assistant Professor,
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Washburn University
Susan Frazier Kahl (2004) Professor, North
Greenville University
Sangmoon Kim (2004) Assistant Professor, Department
of Sociology & Criminal Justice, University of North
Carolina-Wilmington
J. Scott Carter (2003) Assistant Professor,
Department of Sociology, University of Central Florida
Megumi Omori (2003) Assistant Professor, Department
of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice, Bloomsburg
University
Danielle Taana Smith (2003) Assistant Professor,
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Rochester Institute of
Technology
Mitch Mackinem (2003) Assistant Professor,
Department of History & Social Sciences, Claflin University
Paul Roof (2002) Visiting Assistant Professor,
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, College of Charleston
Mamadi Corra (2002) Assistant Professor, Department
of Sociology, East Carolina University
Virginia Martin (2002) Instructor, Department of
Sociology, Appalachian State University
James Adcock (2001) Assistant Professor, Department
of Criminal Justice, University of New Haven
Linda Bridges Karr (2001) University of Groningen,
Netherlands
Gretchen Koehler (2001) Assistant Dean, Educational
Affairs, University of South Florida
Wesley Abercrombie (2001) Instructor of Sociology,
Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Midlands Technical
College
Casey Borch (2001) Assistant Professor, Department
of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Patricia Graham (2000) Part-Time Instructor,
Department of Sociology, Social Work & Criminal Justice, Augusta
State University
David Rowlee (2000) Vice President of Research &
Development, Moorehead Research and Development Group
Marilyn Dudley-Rowley (2000) CEO & Chief Research
Scientist, Oceanic Polar Space-AK
Tasha Anderson (2000) University of Maryland
University College adjunct, federal Government employee
Janeen Demi-Smith (2000) Executive Director of
Assessment, Enrollment and Research Office, Colorado Springs School
District 11
Bettina Friese (2000) Associate Research Scientist,
Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and
Evaluation
Jennifer Stewart (2000) Associate Professor,
Department of Sociology, Grand Valley State University
Karin Roof (2000) Survey Analyst, Institutional
Research Center, College of Charleston
Joong-Hwan Oh (1999) Associate Professor,
Department of Sociology, Hunter College, CUNY
Vinetta Witt (1999) Professor, Department of
Sociology, Newberry College
Pidi Zhang (1997) Associate Professor, Department
of Sociology & Anthropology, Georgia Southern University
Tracy Burkett (1997) Associate Professor,
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, College of Charleston
Tonji Durant (1997) Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
Lisa Eargle (1996) Associate Professor, Department
of Sociology, Francis Marion University
Kimberly McCabe (1996) Dean, School of Humanities &
Social Sciences, Professor, Department of Sociology, Lynchburg
College
Meifang Zhang (1993) Professor of Sociology,
Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Midlands Technical
College
For a brief overview, see our Slideshow:
Intro to the Graduate Program 
Click here to go to the
Graduate Program page.
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