Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Celebrates 2016 Achievements

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Clockwise from bottom left are Mindy Bradley, Juan Bustamante, Lauren Copley-Sabon, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Casey Harris, Patricia Herzog, Brandon Jackson, Natalia Karnes, William Schwab, Brent Smith, Song Yang and Anna Zajicek.

So far, 2016 has been a great year for the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice within the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, with several recent faculty and staff accomplishments.

"We are incredibly excited and proud to see these members of our department recognized by colleagues and students for their diverse strengths and talents, and for their outstanding contributions in research, teaching and service," said Anna Zajicek, professor and chair of the department.

Recent accomplishments

Associate professor and director of online education Mindy Bradley continued to excel in research, teaching, and service. Her recent achievements include the book Preventing Crime and Violence, Vol 3 in the series: Advances in Prevention Science published by Springer. She was also inducted into the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy, joining two other Teaching Academy Fellows from the department — Dan Ferritor and Lori Holyfield. Bradley has been with the department since 2005.

Since arriving at the University of Arkansas in 2012, Juan Jose Bustamante, an assistant professor who holds a joint appointment in the Latin American and Latino Studies program, has established himself as an exceptional teacher and academic. Bustamante's accomplishments were recognized by the University of Arkansas Latino Alumni Society the 2016 Latino Excellence in Academics Award and the Annie E. Casey Foundation which selected him selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Leaders in Equitable Evaluation and Diversity (LEEAD) program.

Visiting Assistant Professor Lauren Copley-Sabon has been with the department since 2014. She has established herself as an excellent teacher, and as such was recently recognized by the American Criminal Justice Society with the 2016 SAGE Junior Faculty Professional Development Teaching Award.

Kevin Fitzpatrick, the Bernice Jones Endowed Chair in Community and director of the Community and Family Institute, is a faculty mentor to Michael Thompson, a junior investigator who received funding from the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). The main 2016-2020 award in the amount $1.87 million per year provides funding for a Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention at the Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute.

Assistant professor Casey Harris joined the department in 2011. He received the 2016 Nolan Award for Outstanding Contribution to Graduate Education. He also received two out of three awards from the National Institute of Justice (over $80,000 total) for the research projects titled "Religious Contexts and Serious Violence Among Latinos and Asians, 2010" and "The Prevalence and Nature of Intra- and Inter-group Violence In an Era of Social and Demographic Change." Additionally, Harris was appointed the co-director of the Center for Social Research.

Assistant professor Patricia Herzog joined the department in 2013 and has established herself as an outstanding teacher and researcher. This year, she published a book with the Oxford University Press, American Generosity: Who Gives and Why. She also has a recent publication with Cognella Academic Publishing, Sociology of Emerging Adulthood. She was also one of the two faculty members to receive the 2016 Master Researcher Award from Fulbright College. Herzog was appointed the co-director of the Center for Social Research.

Assistant professor Brandon Jackson has held a joint appointment in the African and African American Studies program since 2013. In his short time at the university, he has established himself as an outstanding teacher and researcher. Jackson served as a PI and Co-PI on grants totaling over $130,000. He is also among Fulbright College's 2016 Connor Faculty Fellows. The Connor Endowed Faculty Fellowships are awarded to assistant professors who have made excellent contributions to the college and their department.

Administrative specialist Natalia Karnes joined the department in 2007. Her numerous contributions to the department, dedication to students and faculty, and her commitment to excellence were recognized by the Staff Senate. Karnes is among the 2016 recipients of the Employee of the Year Award.

University professor William Schwab joined the department in 1976, and this year the department celebrated his 40 years at the university. For his dedication and lasting contributions to excellence in service, research and teaching he received the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Service.

Distinguished professor and director of the Terrorism Research Center Brent Smith joined the department in 2003. In 2016, he continued to excel in securing external funding from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to study terrorism and extremism in the United States, bringing over $630,000 in new funding. He also served as a faculty mentor to Madeline Brice who was selected as a Department of Homeland Security Fellow through the DHS START Center of Excellence's Undergraduate Research Program.

Since arriving to the university in 2002, professor Song Yang has established himself as a renowned scholar in an interdisciplinary area of social networks. In 2016, Yang's co-authored book Social Network Analysis published by Sage, the number one ranking publisher of quantitative/qualitative sociology, exceeded 1,000 citations. Yang's new book, Social Network Analysis: Methods and Examples, is forthcoming from Sage. Yang also holds the Qianren Professorship with the School of Sociology and Political Science at Shanghai University.

About the Department: The Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice offers three degree programs and two honor societies; affiliation with three research units: the Community and Family Institute, the Terrorism Research Center, and the Center for Social Research; and research emphases in community, crime, law, social inequality, social psychology, culture, organizations and social networks.