At present, this page provides alumni with the annual newsletter. This particular newsletter addresses 2000-2001. If you have ideas on how to improve or add to this page, please e-mail 
Susan L. Schrader, Chair of the Department.
This is the fourth newsletter for Sociology at Augustana. We are enthused about this as a way of communicating with you as alumni. We are hopeful you will find the Sociology newsletter to be an informative addition to the news you regularly receive through Augustana Today and other college publications. For information specific to Social Work for those of you who also had a Social Work major, please enjoy the update from our Social Work colleagues: The Beginning of the New Academic Year
Seven people graduated from Augustana in May with degrees in Sociology. They are Nicole Anderson, Joan Benz, Susan Bunjer, Judd Citrowske, Jessica Hanson, Laura Kalvig, and David Urbaniak. Congratulations to these fine people on their accomplishments here at Augustana! We will miss them!
As good sociologists, we have watched in earnest as the social science faculty has made adjustments to living in new structural configurations! Our most immediate "neighbors" in the building have been Social Work, Psychology, and Economics (with Business Administration also sharing the first floor with us). Since Psychology had been housed in the Humanities Building during the Social Science Building era, this has been a new opportunity to get to know those colleagues better.
The design of the building has caused some challenges. Specifically, one of the sociology offices is located between two fire doors--essentially, in the stairwell area. With the wicked winter that we South Dakotans weathered, this location posed difficulties to our new sociology colleague, Denise Copelton, because of the intrusions of cold and wind as faculty and students alike dipped in to the building quickly to avoid the fierce storms. Fortunately, we will be able to move Denise to new surroundings for next year, and will likely use that office for hardy adjunct faculty.
The best thing about the new Madsen Center, of course, is the space in which we meet with students. The variety of classrooms and meeting space has been a wonderful environment in which to exchange ideas and knowledge, and the welcoming nature of the space (including areas in which students can meet informally to talk and/or study) has been well received by students. We are delighted with these elements of the building!
We began this year welcoming Denise Copelton (pronounced "cope'-el-tun") into our midst. As you may recall from last year's newsletter, Denise came to us from Binghamton University in New York. As Assistant Professor of Sociology, Denise has done a fine job in the classroom and has revitalized the Gender Studies Minor. We are delighted with Denise's contributions to the department and her quality scholarship, including continued progress on her dissertation for her PhD.
For our larger "department of seven" (including Social Work and Native American Studies), we were saddened to learn of Augustana's decision to phase out the accredited Social Work Program, a quality program of regional stature for over two decades. Clearly, we haven't sorted through all of the "shock waves" from this decision. In the short run, there are several consequences:
a) Augustana has made a commitment to support the Social Work Program for at least two years. Therefore, those students who are now enrolled in a Social Work major will be able to continue and complete a Social Work degree through the Joint Social Work Program (offered through Augustana and the University of Sioux Falls).
b) Barb Barclay (part-time instructor) in Social Work has resigned due to family relocation in Colorado.
c) In light of Augustana's decision, Andy Eastwood (full-time instructor) has accepted a position as the Director of the Social Work Program at Luther College.
d) Harriet Scott will continue as Director of the Joint Social Work Program, hiring five adjuncts to teach during Fall 2001.
e) The University of Sioux Falls has decided that it will continue independently with the Social Work Program after Augustana phases out the program.
As a Sociology program, we are preparing for program review by the Curriculum Council in 2002 as well as for the North Central Accreditation visit. We have embarked on initial conversations about how to evaluate the outcomes of our teaching in the learning and transformation of our students. We are anticipating that this will be a significant investment of time, energy, and enthusiasm in the coming years.
Susan Schrader was granted a sabbatical for the 2001-2002 academic year. With that in mind, the department moved ahead to identify quality faculty to assume some of her teaching responsibilities. Two adjunct faculty members (Elizabeth Williams and Brian Fletcher) have been hired to teach during the 2001-2002 year. Dr. Martin Brokenleg, Professor of Native American Studies, will assume the Chair responsibilities during her absence.
A you know from reading The Augustana Today, Dr. Bruce Halverson is at Augustana's helm. He has navigated his first year capably--getting to know the campus and familiarizing himself again with the mission of the place he as an alum holds so dear. Dr. Halverson has charted a course for the College that focuses on fiscal responsibility and vision for the changing climate of higher education. We are optimistic that his guidance will lead us into a new day (the motto of the next financial campaign is "Augustana Sunrise: Offering Hope for the New Day").
In case you want to reach us by telephone, the prefix on ALL of Augustana's telephone numbers has changed. So, instead of using 336, you will now need to dial 274. The toll free number for the College remains the same: 1-800-727-2844.
This year I taught two sections of Social Science Research Methods, Family, Contemporary Society, Aging and Society, and Social Gerontology. The students continue to be sharp, inquisitive, and dedicated. I often wonder if I'm assigning too much, but I find that the dialogue established in class helps me know if I've set the bar too high--but typically, the students respond positively.
For example, students enrolled in the Spring Methods course helped the YMCA do a telephone survey of western Sioux Falls to determine whether there was interest in building a branch YMCA west of Interstate 29. The 22 students made over 1400 telephone calls to acquire a sample of 433 completed calls! As another illustration, students in the aging courses used the Sioux Falls community and its elders as a laboratory in which to learn about retirement, neighborhood, and aging services. I think that students have learned a lot and enjoyed the variety of experiences they've had in my classes.
Before the year began, I was elected to the Faculty Personnel Council and also appointed to the Bush Faculty Development Committee. Both positions were substantial responsibilities that I took seriously. So, it was a rich year of learning and contributing in new ways to the campus. I learned a lot! Administrative responsibilities took center-stage more than research during this particular year of service.
As was mentioned earlier, I was granted a leave of absence for the next academic year. I decided that since I began this teaching career so late (!) in life, I should avail myself of the opportunities for research and travel as they came along. Relatedly, I was funded by the Augustana ARAF Committee to do research in Summer 2001 on South Dakota centenarians (those elders over age 100). I am planning to replicate my PhD dissertation on South Dakota nursing homes at the same time. Next fall, I have responded to what feels like a "call" to spend time at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I have made arrangement with Pastor Larry Petersen to spend the month of September at the Lutheran-Presbyterian Retreat Center in Pine Ridge to learn more about the culture and the people. All too often, I think we are eager to send students abroad to learn of different cultures, when the reality is that we have a culture different from our (non-Indian) own only several hundred miles away. Beyond these two experiences, I hope to find some postage stamps so that I can send out several manuscripts for publication, do some additional traveling and professional dialogue with nationally-renowned gerontologists, and prepare a new course on the Sociology of Organizations. That should keep my plate full! We'll see how well I do with this list when I return!
Beyond that, I am blessed with good colleagues and good students. It's been a fun year here at Augustana.
My fourth year at Augustana was filled with a variety of new academic, administrative, and community experiences. With the absence of Glenda Sehested from our department, I added Social Psychology to my normal teaching rotation this year. This was a new prep for me, and although it kept me running, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of teaching this course and look forward to teaching it every spring term. In addition to Social Psychology, I also taught Intro to Sociology, Minority Groups, and Native American Social Systems this academic year.
Augustana librarian Lisa Brunick and I have been granted a Faculty-Librarian Partnership grant to further develop an "information literacy" component of the course. We will be working throughout this summer to create a program to help students evaluate the scholarly validity of internet resources as part of the writing component to this course.
I had my scheduled third year leave during January, so I did not take students to Ireland during Interim 2001. But I am pleased to say that my course in Ireland has been approved for January 2002, and I am looking forward to renewing contacts and once again teaching students the dynamics of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Check out my website for the 2002 UMAIE course, Social Conflict & Reconciliation in Ireland!
My fourth year also provided an interesting administrative experience. This fall I was elected to be a faculty representative to the Co-Curriculum Council – one of the governing council's of the college, charged with administrative oversight of co-curricular activities. At our first meeting I was elected chair. It was a steep learning curve, but nevertheless provided an excellent experience for me. It was nice to get a clearer view of the overall operation of the college, and to be a participant rather than a spectator. I am looking forward to serving a second year on the Council next year, although hopefully not as chair again!
Finally, in collaboration with Augustana history professor Geoffrey Dipple, I co-led a civic discussion group on the future of U.S. foreign policy sponsored by the National Council for the Humanities and the South Dakota Humanities Council. The four week series, entitled "Choices: U.S. Foreign Policy for a New Millennium," engaged community members in in-depth discussions of the major policy issues facing the United States in the 21st century. Following the series, participants filled out questionnaires that, when combine with those of participants in 15 other states, were forwarded to U.S. legislators in an attempt to allow the public to make informed suggestions on what the priorities of foreign policy should be in the next decade.
We as a department have been saddened by the cuts made to the Social Work program at Augustana, and stand to lose good friends and colleagues, as well as a major that contributed strongly to the Sioux Falls community. Despite the loss, I continue to appreciate the students and colleagues that make Augustana more than just a job for me, and look forward to the challenges of the coming academic year.
My first year here at Augie was a busy, productive, and pleasant one. Having been assured by many that "the last two winters have been mild" and thinking that winters in upstate NY would have prepared me well, I was quite taken aback by my first very chilling and long South Dakota winter. Nonetheless, I survived with only minimal frostbite and have been relishing in the beautiful summer weather. I can now appreciate the near constant SD wind that chilled me to the bone all winter but keeps me cool in the hot summer sun.
This year I taught the introductory course, Contemporary Society as well as several stimulating upper-level courses including Sociology of Gender, Sociological Theory, and Wealth and Poverty. I especially enjoyed the high levels of interaction and scholarly debate in my seminar courses and the interesting mix of students in the introductory classes. Overall, I found Augie students to be very motivated and capable. I look forward to teaching Research Methods in the Social Sciences and Medical Sociology in Dr. Schrader's absence next year.
During the fall semester, I joined a group of colleagues from across campus to evaluate the effectiveness of web-enhanced instruction. We constructed and administered a survey in my Soci 110 Contemporary Society course in both the Fall and Spring semesters and are currently analyzing the results.
Also this past fall, Glenda Sehested and I took a group of sociology and gender studies students to the Hypatia Conference on Social Justice at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN. Our group was the largest single group in attendance and included Joan Benz, Joy Steuven, Laura Kalvig, Sara Sayler Hertz, April Barton, Jessica Hanson, Jessica Scheller, and Prof. Anne Windholz. Students and faculty/administrators all enjoyed the two keynote speakers - Green Party vice-presidential candidate Winona LaDuke, and feminist economist Marilyn Waring. As a result of attendance at this conference, several students and faculty members including myself formed a new organization on campus known as the Augustana Coalition for Social Justice (ACSJ). In March, I chaired the ACSJ's Women's History Month Committee which organizing the first annual Women's History Month Colloquium. The colloquium featured talks by Mark VanWienen and Janet Blank-Libra and a film viewing and discussion of The Stepford Wives.
As an active conference-goer, I attended the midwinter meeting of Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS), the main professional organization for feminist sociologists. My article, "Lessons from the Field: Managing Student Resistance and Hostility to Course Content on Gender" will be published in the summer issue of Network News, the SWS newsletter. In June, I attended the New Jersey Project's Summer Teaching Institute on "Teaching about Power, Privilege and Difference" where I spend the week with many talented teachers and scholars. I look forward to incorporating what I learned at these conferences into my courses for next year.
In addition to teaching and participating in campus and professional activities, I spent much of my first year working on my dissertation research on popular pregnancy advice books. This research includes an analysis of pregnancy advice books and interviews with pregnant women. I hope to better understand how women use these books not only to gather information about pregnancy, but as a means of constructing images of themselves as good mothers. This past April I presented a paper at the Midwest Sociological Society (MSS) based on some of my preliminary findings entitled, "The Social Control of Pregnant Women: A Critical Reading of Pregnancy Advice Books." I received a grant from MSS to complete the interview phase of my research this summer.
Finally, I was saddened by the loss of the Social Work program at Augustana. In my short time here I have come to appreciate the unique perspectives that social work students bring to my classes and the outstanding contributions that our social work students and faculty make to the Augustana community. I am confident that students and faculty will achieve great things in their future endeavors and I wish them the best of luck.
Obviously, you are reading this newsletter on the Internet. However, some of your Sociology alumni friends may not be connected to the web. Our year 2001 newsletter is available only on the Internet, so if you'd like to share your web newsletter with them, do so! Otherwise, please suggest to them that they request a paper copy of the newsletter in the mail by completing the following information and sending it to us at:
So, all in all, we have had a fine, optimistic and eventful year. We watched with pride as seven Sociology majors graduated in the Class of 2001 and we are pleased with growing enrollment within the major and the College at large.
Should you have occasion to return to campus, please know that the welcome mat is out for you!