Two sociology department members were recognized for excellence at the 2019 Graduate Fellowship and Awards Luncheon on May 1, 2019.
Congratulations to Dr. Christina Falci for receiving the Dean's Award for Excellence in Graduate Education! This award “honors faculty members whose dedication to graduate students and commitment to excellence in graduate mentoring have made a significant contribution to graduate education at Nebraska.”
Dr. Falci’s nomination letter notes: “Professor Falci’s conscientious work resulted in more efficient guidelines for graduate students and improvements in their annual evaluations. Prof. Falci also enhanced graduate program effectiveness by working with departmental leadership (e.g., the Undergraduate Chair, Vice Chair of Sociology) to create new graduate and undergraduate course rotations that were more predictable, thereby improving students’ ability to plan their program of study. In her earliest days as an Assistant Professor and currently as an Associate Professor, she has mentored graduate students to produce conference presentations for professional sociology meetings and to write articles for refereed academic journals. She has a dozen written collaborations with graduate students. The collaborations both foster students’ scholarly development and increase their competitiveness on the job market. Prof. Falci is an exemplary graduate advocate, educator, mentor, and role model.”
Congratulations to Sociology graduate student Jennifer Andersen for receiving the Outstanding Graduate Research and Creative Activities Award. This award “recognizes excellence in graduate student research and creativity at Nebraska.” Ms. Andersen is the first UNL Department of Sociology graduate student to receive this notable award.
Ms. Andersen’s nomination letter notes: “Social inequality shapes the distribution of illnesses, access to care, and quality of care, even with providers want to provide equal treatment. Jenn’s work will help providers to reach their own goals to help all patients and to avoid having implicit biases cause differential treatment. Her research so far has explored how health providers, popular discourse, and individuals with a specific health condition understand who is responsible for the cause and care of their condition, with an emphasis on degrees of stigma. Her goal is to bring an understanding of how societal actors attribute responsibility in health conditions that have policy relevance. Jenn is tenacious in the face of obstacles, committed to completing her degree, and eager to contribute new knowledge to advance care of people who are suffering needlessly. She is a leader among her peers, dedicated to garnering resources to support her research, an excellent teacher, and department member.”
