Welcome to Sociology at UAlbany

The Department of Sociology at UAlbany is very proud of the accomplishments of our faculty and students. Many of our faculty have received University awards and other recognition for their teaching, research, and academic service. It is our faculty’s strong record of scholarly accomplishment that has led to increasing national recognition and stature for the Department. The U.S. News & World Report ranking of sociology graduate programs in 2005 ranked the Department tied for 25th. The Department is also one of the largest undergraduate majors at UAlbany, offering a broad and diverse range of options for students. We invite you to learn more about us by exploring our links.

Recent News

David Chunyu received a one-year Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (USA).

Please join the department in congratulating winners of the University at Albany's 2008 Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award: Randy Hohle, Jr. "Symbolic Citizenship, Ethical Practice, and the Body: Competing Political Projects in the Black Civil Rights Movement 1954-1968" and Shannon M. Monnat - "The Color of Welfare Sanctioning: A Multilevel of Benefit Reductions and Case Closures Under Welfare Reform" This prize is award to the best dissertations in any field in the College.

Congratulations to Karen Tejada for receiving the Jackie McLean Fellowship, a competitive 1-year visiting faculty fellowship at the University at Hartford.

The Department's 38th Annual Theodore G. Standing Lecture presented by Dr. Gary LaFree was a success. Congratulations to the winners of the sociology departments 2008 Paul Meadows Excellence in Teaching Award (Carolyn Corrado ), 2008 Paul Meadows Excellence in Research Award (Erica Hunter & Bryan Robinson ), and the 2008 Allen E. Liska Dissertation Award (Karen Tejada ).

Hayward Derrick Horton received the 2008 Outstanding Community Service Award from the Black Caucus of the Public Employee Federation for his research on 'Diversity in the New York State Government Workforce.

Jeff Napierala has been accepted as one of about 20 graduate students to participate this summer in the Harvard Manchester Summer Workshop at the University of Manchster on Immigration and Social Change in Britain and the US.

Angie Y. Chung is spending the 2008 fall semester as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Sociology at Yonsei University, Korea.

Steve Messner is spending the 2008 spring semester at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Bielefeld, Germany. He is a member of a research group studying the control of violence.

Research by Donald Hernandez on Racial-Ethnic Inequality in Child Well-Being from 1985-2004 was featured in a front page story by USA TODAY

Hayward Derrick Horton was promoted to Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for the University at Albany. He is the first individual in the history of the institution to hold this post. He also continues his responsibility as Professor of Sociology.

Congratulations to Ryan King co-recipient of the 2007 ASA Culture Section Best Paper Award.

Congratulations to Steven Messner recipient of the 2007 Collins Fellow award.

The Department's 37th Annual Theodore G. Standing Lecture presented by Dr. Gil Eyal was a success. Congratulations to the winners of the sociology departments 2007 Paul Meadows Excellence in Teaching Award (Joshua Grove), 2007 Paul Meadows Excellence in Research Award (Shannon Monnat), and the 2007 Allen E. Liska Dissertation Award (Daniel Santore).

Congratulations to Karyn Loscocco recipient of the 2006-2007 College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Teaching Award.

Congratulations to David Wagner for winning the University at Albany's 2006-2007 Excellence in Academic Service Award.

Congratulations to Jannette Swanson for winning the University at Albany's 2006-2007 Award for Excellence in Teaching (TA).

Steven F. Messner was recently elected Vice Prisident of the American Society of Criminology for the 2007-2008 term.

Steven F. Messner has been selected as a Deputy Editor for the American Sociological Review for a three-year term.

Angie Y. Chung released her book "Legacies of Struggle: Conflict and Cooperation in Korean American Politics" with Stanford University Press (2007). The study explores the dynamics of ethnic political solidarity between immigrant and second-generation Korean American organizations in Koreatown amidst increasing class polarization, intergenerational tensions, and residential dispersal. She is currently secretary-treasurer of the International Migration Section and council member of the Asia and Asia America section of the ASA.

An article about Karyn Loscocco's Upstate New York Small Business project and her research on the gender gap in small business success appeared in the April 2006 issue of The Albany Business Review.

Ryan King received the 2006 Law and Society Association Best Article Award.

Scott South was recently elected to the Sociological Research Association.

Hayward Derrick Horton is a recipient of both the Univeristy at Albany's 2005-2006 Excellence in Academic Service Award and the 2005-2006 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service .

Steve Messner has been selected to receive a 2006 SUNY Research Foundation Research & Scholarship Award.

Congratulations to Lisa A. Burke and Harlene J. Labrum both are recognized as graduating seniors with 4.0 GPA.

Norma Malfatti received the best undergraduate sociology research paper award 2006.

Michael Ayers has been selected for the 2006 University Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award.

The Department's 36th Annual Theodore G. Standing Lecture presented by Dr. Gary Allen Fine was a success. Congratulations to the winners of the sociology departments 2006 Paul Meadows Excellence in Teaching Award (Jannette Swanson and Dan Farr), 2006 Paul Meadows Excellence in Research Award (Yue Zhuo), and the 2006 Allen E. Liska Dissertation Award (Astrid Eich-Krohm).

Donald J. Hernandez was awarded a Presidential Citation by the American Psychological Association on February 2, 2006, to recognize and commend his "...distinguished contributions to the health and well-being of immigrant children and their families..."

David Redmon (graduate alumni) recently received a favorable review in The Nation of his film Mardi Gras: Made in China.

Pamela Bennett and Amy Lutz (graduate alumni) received $7,000 from ASA's Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline for a study of Parenting and Schooling in Diverse Families.

Distinguished Teaching Professor Steven Messner was recently the focus of a feature article on the UAlbany homepage. Click here to read about a day in the life of Dr. Messner as told by freshman Catherina Somai.