Lora McGraw
Curriculum Vita
Degree & Year in the Program           

Second Year PhD Student

Areas of Specialization          

Gender, Inequality, Violence

About me

            I am currently a second year PhD student in the department of sociology at UNL. I received three bachelor’s degrees in political science, gender studies, and Spanish from Kansas State University in 2013. During my time as an undergraduate, I worked in a research lab that focused on sexual violence in the psychology department. While working there, I co-authored a publication on the effects of labels on individuals’ perceptions of rape survivors. I also presented a paper on relationships between individuals’ perceptions of pressuring behaviors, attitudes toward women who have been raped, and rape proclivity at a large conference.

 

I went on to receive my master’s degree in sociology at Kansas State University in 2017. While there, my research primarily focused on gender-based violence and inequality. I presented a literature review about feminicide in Central America and my master’s thesis at the annual Midwest Sociological Society meetings in 2016 and 2017. My master’s thesis focused on masculinities and how to engage men in sexual violence prevention. I conducted a program analysis of male-based university sexual violence prevention programs at six universities across the United States. I received several travel grants and a research grant to complete my master’s thesis while I was at Kansas State. I also served as a graduate teaching assistant for two large introduction to sociology courses and a sociological theory course, and I independently managed three lab sections for a quantitative methods course.

 

After I obtained my master’s degree, I worked as a Research Associate for the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission at the Supreme Court of Virginia. While there, I used statistical techniques and data manipulation to analyze criminal justice data, examine trends, track proposed legislation, and assess the impact of proposed legislative and executive policy changes. Additionally, I interpreted results of research projects, wrote reports of findings for policymakers and other government agencies, and provided presentations of research findings. I decided to attend UNL to pursue my PhD after a year and a half at the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission. My current research interests are gender, inequality, and violence. I have papers under review that focus on sexual violence, sexual minorities, and help-seeking behaviors among sexual assault survivors.

Courses Taught

Introduction to Sociology (Kansas State University, Teaching Assistant),

Sociological Theory (Kansas State University, Teaching Assistant), Quantitative Methods (Kansas State University, Lab Instructor),

Introduction to Sociology (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Recitation Instructor)

Select Publications

Hockett, J. M., McGraw, L. K., & Saucier, D. A. (2014). A “rape victim” by any other name: The effects of labels on individuals’ rape-related perceptions. In H. Pishwa & R. Schulze (Eds.), Expression of inequality in interaction: Power, dominance, and status (pp. 81-104). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.