Sociologist, ISSR Scholar Focused on Work-Based Inequality in America
“I am a sociologist interested in race, racism, inequality,” says Enobong (Anna) Branch, assistant professor of sociology who is also an ISSR Scholar for 2012-13 with the Institute for Social Science Research. Her academic focus is examining how race, gender and class shape work-based inequality in America. She strives to explain the ways that race/ethnicity and gender are embedded in multilevel social processes leading to occupational segregation, social stratification, and differential life chances Read more...

SBS Names Outstanding Teachers for 2013
This year’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award goes to BJ Roche ’78, senior lecturer, advisor and internship coordinator in Journalism, and David Cort, assistant professor of Sociology. Read more...

LARP Leader, ISSR Research Scholar Prepares Communities for Future Hazards
“I am quite passionate about helping communities prepare to meet the challenges of this century,” says Elisabeth Hamin, associate professor and new department head for Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. In addition to her newly acquired administration work, Hamin focuses on land use planning, particularly as it relates to climate change adaptation. Read more...

New Communication Chair Erica Scharrer
Professor Erica Scharrer began her new role as chair of the Department of Communication just prior to the start of the second semester. She brings both her incredible experience in Communication and her devoted support of faculty and students to the position. Kailey Anarino '13 (communication) sat down with Professor Scharrer recently to give us all a better sense of her interests and what she hopes to accomplish. Read more...

Political Scientist, ISSR Scholar Bruce Desmarais Focuses on Computational Social Science
“If you had asked me when I graduated from high school what I would be doing a decade later, I never would have said ‘college professor,’” says Asst. Prof. Bruce Desmarais (political science). But as his college career at Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) developed, Desmarais became captivated with the social sciences and teaching. Today his research focuses on political methodology, American politics, and an emerging cross-disciplinary field, Computational Social Science. And as an inaugural Research Scholar with the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR), he is learning the ins and outs of applying for major grants that will help him raise that research to the next level. Read more...