Nicholas Bakken - 437A; Ext. 5-8665; 2009; B.S., University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (2004); M.A. and Ph.D., University of Delaware (2006, 2009). Nick teaches courses in introductory sociology, criminal justice, criminology, corrections, sociopharmacology, and research methods. His research interests are in the areas of prisoner reentry, substance use, the role of social factors in criminal desistance, and the evaluation of strategies for crime control and prevention. His current research explores the multiple pathways of criminal desistance among reentering drug-involved offenders and the etiology of adolescent substance use.
Email: nbakken@uwlax.edu
Mike Brennan - 437E; Ext 5-6773; 2008; B.A University of Leicester, England; M.A, & Ph.D, University of Warwick, England.
Mike teaches courses in classical
sociological theory; death, dying and bereavement; the sociology of
religion and introductory sociology. His main research interests include
social theory, collective memory and the sociology of death and dying.
Mike's recent research has explored mourning, memory and identity in the
context of contemporary Israeli society and the wider
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His previous research has explored the
public mourning that followed the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and
the Hillsborough soccer stadium disaster, in particular the intersection
between personal identity and public grief and the use of condolence
books as cultural vehicle for meaning-making in the face of
unanticipated loss. Mike has published widely, and for a variety of
audiences, in international journals, including: Theory, Culture &
Society, Death Studies, Mortality, Sociology,
Sociology Review, Cultural Studies and Nursing Standard.
His recent book, Mourning and Disaster, was published in 2008 by
Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Mike is currently Director of the Center
for Death Education and Bioethics at UW-L and Associate Editor of the
journal Illness, Crisis & Loss. Mike also serves on the editorial
board of the journal Memory Studies and is a member of the
Warwick Centre for Memory Studies. He is a member of the Midwest
Sociological Society, the Association for Death Education and
Counseling (ADEC), and is a member of the organizing committee for the
annual Death, Grief and Bereavement Conference hosted by UW-L.
Email:
mbrennan@uwlax.edu
Enilda Delgado - 437B; Ext. 5-6776; 2001; B.A., University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign; M.S. and Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison. Enilda teaches The Social World, Social Research Methods I, Social Stratification, Demography, Sociological Aspects of Work and Life and Quantitative Social Research Seminar. Her research interests are in the areas of work and family, child care, social stratification, race and ethnicity and demography. Enilda is currently analyzing national level data dealing with child care and work and family issues. Enilda is a member of the American Sociological Association, the Population Association of America and the Midwest Sociological Society. In addition, Enilda is a member of the La Crosse County Poverty Taskforce.
Email: edelgadol@uwlax.edu
Al Gedicks - 437N; Ext. 5-6782; 1985, B.A., M.S., and Ph.D., UW Madison. Al is concerned with environmental sociology, Native Americans--and how multinational mining and oil companies affect both. He is also a recognized filmmaker with five films to his credit. His most recent film, "Keepers of the Water," about the Indian-environmental alliance against the proposed Crandon, Wisconsin mine, was awarded "Best Environmental Program" at the 1997 Red Earth American Indian Film & Video Competition in Oklahoma City. His other films cover the topics of Finnish immigrant experiences and the impacts of mining on Native American and rural communities. Al teaches Racial and Ethnic Minorities, the Sociology of Film, Environmental Sociology, Foundations of Sociological Analysis and American Indians and the Environment. His research and publications center on the issue of environmental threats and sociocultural dislocation posed by mining and oil projects. His published articles have appeared in sociological journals, edited books, and the popular press. His most book,Resource Rebels: Native Challenges to Mining and Oil Corporations (South End Press) was published in 2001 and his most recent work, Dirty Gold: Indigenous Alliances to End Global Resource Colonialism (South End Press) is to be released in July 2009
Email: agedicks@uwlax.edu
Timothy B. Gongaware - 437H; Ext. 5-6772; 2001; B.A. from Kent State University; M.S. from Ohio University; Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. In addition to helping people explore sociology through our introductory courses, Tim teaches our senior options course on Qualitative Explorations as well as in the areas of collective behavior and social movements, social psychology, and sociological theory. His research interests center on social psychological issues, and he previously focused on teachers, school boards, school board members, and social movements. Recent research has included an ethnographic exploration of collective identities and collective memories in two Native American social movement organizations that are challenging educational systems and practices as well as with GLBT social movements. Currently, he is working on an ethnographic exploration of various hobby and leisure groups.
Email: tgongaware@uwlax.edu
Carol Miller - 437D; Ext. 5-6777; 1998; B.S., UW-River Falls, M.A. and Ph.D., University of Arizona. Carol teaches courses in Comparative Sociology, Gender, and Urban/Rural Sociology. Her research is primarily in the areas of gender and World-systems Theory. Another research interest has led to her study of deer hunting activities. Overall, Carol's teaching and research revolve around economic and social changes, occuring in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest, as a result of globalization.
Email: cmiller@uwlax.edu
Tim Thornton – 426C; Ext. 5-6779; 2004; B.S., University of Wisconsin – La Crosse; M.A., University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee; ABD, Indiana University – Bloomington. Tim teaches courses in
social problems, research methodology, deviance, mental illness, and medical sociology. His research interests are in the areas of deviance and medical sociology. His current research examines suicide in a comparative framework. Tim is a huge Packer and Badger fan, and has been known to wear a cheesehead to class.
Email: tthornton@uwlax.edu
Kim Vogt, Dept Chair - 435A; Ext. 5-8458; 1994; B.A., Alfred University (1981); M.A. and Ph.D., University of New Hampshire (1983, 1989). Kim teaches courses in criminology, criminal justice, delinquency, deviance, and quantitative social research. She also coordinates WU-L's interdisciplinary minor in criminal justice. Her research interests are in the areas of violence, particularly the study of homicide and suicide; hate crime; and risk behaviors among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. Her current research involves examining gender differences in rates of juvenile homicide offending and victimization. She is a member of the Homicide Research Working Group, a national organization of researchers specializing in the study of homicide, and serves on the editorial board of the journal Homicide Studies.
Email: kvogt@uwlax.edu
Bill Zollweg - 437I; Ext. 5-8465; 1982; B.A., M.A., University of Northern Colorado; Ph.D., Western Michigan University. Bill teaches Social Psychology, the Sociology of Small Groups, Applied Social Research, Sociology of Sport, Marriage and Family, Drugs and Society, and The Social World. He has conducted a series of applied research projects with various clients in the area and region, including the United Way of La Crosse, the Coulee Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, and the Wisconsin Departments of Transportation (repeat drunk drivers) and Health and Human Services (diabetes among Native Americans). Most recently, Bill has been researching Autistic Spectrum Disorder treatments, which has resulted in published journal articles in Audiology and Medicine. He is currently working on research alternative criminal justice sanctions. In La Crosse County he is the Federal Evaluator for the Drug Court Program and in Trempealeau County he was the Federal Evaluator for four different alternative criminal justice programs.
Email: wzollweg@uwlax.edu
Emeritus Faculty
Jac Bulk - jbulk@uwlax.edu
Gerry Cox - cox.gerr@uwlax.edu
Sheldon Smith - smith.shel@uwlax.edu