Ph.D. Students
Angela Adler (Ph.D 2023)
Traumatic Brain Injury and Romantic Relationships: Stigma Experiences and Improving Romantic Relationship Quality
Committee: Christina Falci (Chair), Lisa Kort-Butler, Lory Dance, Sarah Zuckerman
Grace Kelly (Ph.D 2023)
A Case for Friendship: A Mixed Methods Investigation of Close Friendships in Adulthood
Committee: Robin Gauthier (Chair), Julia McQuillan (Co-Chair), Emily Kazyak, Kelsy Burke
Angelica Phillips (Ph.D 2023)
Coverage Error Properties of Smartphone and Smartphone Operating System Ownership on Web Surveys: A Total Survey Error Perspective
Committee: Kristen Olson (Chair), Jolene Smyth, Julia McQuillan, Andre Maciel
Maia Behrendt (Ph.D 2023)
Creating Community and Dismantling Settler Colonialism: Indigenous Women’s Art
Committee: Kelsy Burke (Chair), Julia McQuillan, Lory Dance, Patrick Jones (Outside Member)
First Position: Assistant Professor (St. Norbert College)
Rosalind Kichler (Ph.D 2023)
Old, Gray, and Gay: Lesbian Aging and Identity
Committee: Emily Kazyak (Chair), Kelsy Burke, Lory Dance, Loukia Sarroub (Outside Member)
First Position: Assistant Teaching Professor (University of Washington)
Josey VanOrsdale (Ph.D 2023)
Adaptive Respondent Driven Sampling of Social Networks: A Simulation-Based Study Using Machine Learning
Committee: Bilal Khan (Co-Chair), Jolene Smyth (Co-Chair), Julia McQuillan, Kimberly Tyler, Shruti Bolman (Outside Member)
Marissa Oliver (Ph.D 2022)
Ethnic/Racial Socialization about Race, Racism, and Policing among Black and African American Families in the United States
Committee: Emily Kazyak (Chair), Robin Gauthier, Lisa-Kort Butler, and Jordan Soliz
First Position: Quantitative Research Associate II (Fors Marsh Group)
Andrea Johnson (Ph.D 2022)
Are Counselors Enough? Supporting Students' Mental Health in Nebraska Public Schools
Committee: Kristen Olson and Regina Werum (Co-Chairs), Kelsy Burke, and Wayne Babchuk
First Position: Honors Program Director/Sociology Professor (Doane University)
Jaala Robinson (Ph.D. 2021)
Housework: Socialization Influences on Individual Performance, Couple Division of Labor and Mental Health
Committee: Christina Falci and Jeffrey Smith (Co-Chairs), Lisa Kort-Butler and Ann Mari May
Current Position: Management Analyst for Sacred Heart Community Service
Alice MillerMacPhee (Ph.D. 2021)
Immigration Advocacy in the Midwest: Organizations in Coalition and Contention
Committee: Kelsy Burke (Chair), Lory Dance, Kirk Dombrowski, and Patrick Jones
Current Position: UX Researcher for Adobe
Sela Harcey (Ph.D. 2021)
Measuring Social Integration: Linking Personal and Associational Ties in Ego Networks
Committee: Jeffrey Smith (Chair), Kristen Olson, Robin Gauthier, and Daizaburo Shizuka
Current Position: Senior Researcher at Fors Marsh
First Position: Quantitative Researcher, Fors Marsh Group
Trenton M. Haltom (Ph.D. 2021)
Cover Guys: Masculinity, Sexuality, and Representations of Men's Bodies in Popular Magazines for Men
Committee: Kristen Olson and Kelsy Burke (Co-Chairs), Christina Falci, Emily Kazyak, and Casey Kelly
First Position: Qualitative Methodologist, Methodology & Statistics Core, Center for Innovation in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (IQuEST), Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center; Research Associate in Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
Jerry Timbrook (Ph.D 2020)
Using Recurrent Neural Networks to Code Interviewer Question-Asking Behaviors: A Proof of Concept
Committee: Kristen Olson (Chair), Jolene Smyth, Robin Gauthier, Leen-kiat Soh, and Adam Eck
First Position: Survey Methodologist, RTI International, Durham, NC
Shawn Ratcliff (Ph.D. 2020)
The Relationship between State-Level Dynamics, Firearm Policies, and County-Level Homicides
Committee: Phil Schwadel and Regina Werum (Co-Chairs), Kristen Olson, Tara Warner, and Amanda Gailey
First Position: Survey Scientist, U.S. Census Bureau, Kansas City, MO
Joseph Jochman (Ph.D. 2020)
Do Unto Others’: Religiosity and Bullying in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood
Committee: Jacob Cheadle and Philip Schwadel (Co-Chairs), Tara Warner and Sue Swearer
Current Position: Assistant Professor at University of North Dakota
First Position: Post-Doc at University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Sociology
Jennifer Andersen (Ph.D. 2020)
How does the social world shape the experience of a rare disease? Social position and the development, progression, and medical care for people with ALS
Committee: Julia McQuillan, Lisa Kort-Butler, Kristen Olson, David Warner, and Angela Palmer-Wackerly
First Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest in Fayetteville, AR
Ian Duncan (Ph.D. 2019)
An Examination of Capital in a Network of People Who Inject Drugs
Committee: Kirk Dombrowski (Chair), Bilal Khan, Jeff Smith, and Nichols Guenzel
Current Position: Applied Underwriters
Colleen Ray (Ph.D. 2019)
Correlates of the Reporting of and Arrests for Sexually-Based Offenses and Domestic Violence Incidents
Committee: Kristen Olson and Kimberly Tyler (Co-chairs), Amy Anderson, and Lisa Kort-Butler
Current Position: Behavorial Scientist at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
First Position: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow at CDC in the Divion of Violence Prevention
Research Interest: In my position I will be working on projects related to the prevention of sexual and domestic violence. Primarily I will work on two projects, one about child sexual abuse in youth serving organizations, and one about disrupting the cycle of domestic violence.
Brandi Woodell (Ph.D. 2018)
Health in Rural Communities: Variation in Resource Utilization by Sexual Orientation and Gender
Current position: Assistant Professor of Sociology, Old Dominion University.
First position: Assistant Professor of Sociology, Old Dominion University
Research interests: Dr. Woodell’s research explores how social factors interact to create and reinforce social inequality. Specifically, her research examines the disparities between sexual minorities and heterosexuals within social contexts like religion, family, and health.
Jerreed Ivanich (Ph.D. 2018)
Understanding Mental and Behavioral Health of American Indian Youth and Application of the Social Convoy Model.
Current position: Assistant Professor at the Colorado School of Public Health
First position: Post doc, John Hopkins University
Research interests: The focal point of Jerreed's research interest centers on racial disparities, primarily American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) populations.
Lorri Merchant (Ph.D. 2018)
Stress, The Religious Coping Resources of Meaning Making, Forgiveness, and Divine Reliance and the Mental Health of Seventh-Day Adventists
Current position: Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, TN, faculty
First position: Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, TN, faculty
Raeda Anderson (Ph.D. 2018)
Current position: Research Scientist at the Shepherd Center
First position: Assistant Professor of Sociology at Georgia State University
Research interests: Dr. Anderson’s research interests include survey implementation and biopsychosocial analysis of physical disability.
Dogan Hatun (Ph.D. 2018)
Disentangling the Roles of Modernization and Secularization on Fertility: The Case of Turkey
Current position: Usak University / Turkey
First position: The Ministry of Education of Turkey
Research interests: Family, Fertility, and Religion
Stacy Tiemeyer (Ph.D. 2018)
Current position: Research Coordinator at University of Arkansas for Medical Services
First position: Research scientist Oklahoma State University
Research interests: My recent research focuses on the interrelationships between social structures, cognitive processes, and behaviors, with a particular focus on maternal and child health.
Nathan Palmer (Ph.D. 2018)
Measuring the Sociological Imagination via Undergraduate Explanations of Social Inequality
Current position: Assistant Professor of Sociology, Georgia Southern University
First position: Assistant Professor of Sociology, Georgia Southern University
Research interests: I research how people explain human behavior and social phenomena. This agenda has two broad focuses: 1. How people explain social inequality. 2. How sociologist's explanations of human behavior and social phenomena differs from the explanations of non-sociologists. This second focus leads me to do research on sociology as a discipline and how sociologists develop from novices to experts.
Patrick Habecker (Ph.D. 2017)
Who Do You Know: Improving and Exploring the Network Scale-Up Method
Current position: Research Assistant Professor and Longitudinal Networks Co-Director
First position: Post doc in the Research, Evaluation and Analysis for Community Health (REACH) Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Research interests: Dr. Habecker specializes in survey research and methodology, network analysis, simulation, and quantitative analysis. He oversees graduate student research on projects from Puerto Rico and Alaska, as well as pursuing his own network science-related research here in Nebraska.
Lesa Johnson (Ph.D. 2016)
Current position: Associate Professor, University of Illinois - Springfield
First position: Assistant Professor, University of California- Chico
Research interests: Dr. Johnson has conducted research on the social support and mental health of Black American and Black Caribbean women by socioeconomic status, on the social support and economic mobility prospects of Black American and South Sudanese women in the U.S., and on the social justice initiatives of university students from marginalized backgrounds at a predominately-white institution (PWI). Currently, she conducts participatory action research with two marginalized communities in Chico and surrounding areas.
Laura Simon (Ph.D. 2016)
Sex Across the Life Course: An Examination of Social Influences on Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Associations between Sexual Behavior Patterns and Young Adult Health
Current position: Assistant Professor of Sociology, Mercer University
First position: Assistant Professor of Sociology, Mercer University
Research interests: My dissertation work examined the associations between life course sexual partnerships and mental and physical health outcomes. In this work, I studied the complexities of both adolescent and emerging adulthood sexual patterns and the implications for young adult health. My current research remains centered on the examination of health across the life course and associated risk trajectories. I believe it is important to take a life course approach in the study of the health in order to inform policy and community-based programming that can improve health and well-being for individuals from a variety of backgrounds.
Dane Hautala (Ph.D. 2016)
Three Studies Examining the Mechanisms Linking Stress Exposure to Delinquency and Substance Use among North American Indigenous Adolescents
Current position: Assistant Scientist, John Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health
First position: Post Doc, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus
Lina Stover (Ph.D. 2016)
Latino/a students maneuvering through the admissions and retention systems
Current position: UNO Associate director of Admissions
First position: UNO Associate director of Admissions
Research interests: Education/stratification/race and ethnicity
Scott Adams (Ph.D. 2015)
Current position: Northwestern Mutual
First position: Data Scientist at Nielsen, Chicago, IL
Rachel M. Schmitz (Ph.D. 2015)
Current position: Associate Professor of Sociology, Oklahoma State University
First position: Assistant Professor, University of Texas Rio Grand Valley
Research interests: Dr. Schmitz’s work examines nuanced aspects of intersecting social inequalities within the realms of gender, sexuality, social class, and family using primarily qualitative methods, with complementary work using quantitative techniques. Currently, she is conducting a qualitative interview study that examines LGBTQ Latinx young people’s subjective interpretations of health within dominant societal frameworks that emphasize the risks they face.
Megumi Watanabe (Ph.D. 2015)
Current position: Associate Professor in the Office of University Strategy at Hiroshima University; Hiroshima, Japan
First position: Position in Hiroshima, Japan University Education
Deadric Williams (Ph.D. 2015)
Current position: Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee Knoxville; Knoxville, TN
First position: Post Doctorate University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Research interests: My research focuses on the intersections of families, health, and inequality. More specifically, I am a quantitative sociologist with research interests in the consequences of stress for health and health risk behaviors within families and among peer groups. My work emphasizes three general themes: reciprocity between stress and relationship health in couple dyads; stress exposure and mental (and physical) health outcomes; and, health risk behaviors.
Alian Kasabian (Ph.D. 2015)
Current position: Director of MERC and ORED's Research Data and Security Liaison
First position: Evaluation Project Manager, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Research interests: My research focus is on gender and survey methodology – particularly data quality. My training is in gender and research methods, with a minor in survey methodology, and the majority of my work focuses on the measurement of sex and gender in surveys
Anna Bellatorre (Ph.D. 2014)
Current position: Assistant Director of Data Operations for the Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity & Diabetes Center
First position: Postdoctoral Researcher, National Institutes of Health, Washington, D.C.
Research interests: Medical Sociology, Quantitative Methodology, Biosociology, Survey Research and Methodology
Keri Gentzler (Ph.D. 2014)
A Stress Process Model of Arrest among Homeless Women: Exploring Risk and Protective Factors
Current position: Assistant Professor; Doane College, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Crete, NE
First position: Associate Professor; Doane College, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Crete, NE
Kayla Pritchard (Ph.D. 2013)
Current position: Associate Professor; South Dakota School of Mines, Department of Social Sciences; Rapid City, SD
Grant Tietjen (Ph.D. 2013)
Exploring Educational Pathways: Reintegration of the Formerly Incarcerated through the Academy
Current position: Associate Professor; University of Washington Tacoma, School of Social Work and Criminal Justice; Tacoma, WA
Master’s Students
Katie Meyer (M.A. 2022)
Thesis title: Effects of Victimization and Community Characteristics on Health Outcomes
Memory Manda (M.A. 2022)
Thesis title: Factors Associated with Racial Differences in Healthcare Access
Nestor Hernandez (M.A. 2022)
Thesis title: The Burden Of Giving: Race, SES, And Nativity Differences In Providing Informal Financial Assistance
Cadyn Williamson (M.A. 2021)
Daniel Schaefer (M.A. 2021)
Thesis title: The Relationship Between Quality of Life, Extreme Climatological Conditions and Social Unrest in India
Meagan Kunitzer (M.A. 2021)
Thesis title: Protective Factors Against Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization
Eli Ornelas (M.A. 2020)
Thesis title: The Consequences and Correlates of Racial Identity Discordance: An Explication of the Social Construction of Race
Eliza Thor (M.A. 2020)
Thesis title: Relationship Quality in Kin and Chosen Kin Familial Networks
Angelica Phillips (M.A. 2020)
Thesis title: Examining the Association Between Interviewer and Respondent Speaking Pace in Telephone Interviews
Andrea Johnson (M.A. 2019)
Thesis title: The Perfect Match? Determinants of Job Placement Among PhD Earners
Current position: Assistant Professor at Doane University
Maia Behrendt (M.A. 2019)
Thesis title: Drinking Behaviors, Relationships, and Recovery: A Relational Sociological Examination of Addiction
Current position: Ph.D. Student in Sociology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Grace Kelly (M.A. 2019)
Thesis title: Social Networks and Science Identity: Does Peer Commitment Matter?
Current position: Ph.D. Student in Sociology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Marissa Oliver (M.A. 2019)
Current position: Quantitative Research Associate at Fors Marsh
Jameson Morrow (M.A. 2018)
Thesis title: Birds of a Feather? Friendship Utilization by Sexual Minority Students During the Transition to College
Current position: Ph.D. Student in Sociology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jamy Rentschler (M.A. 2018)
Thesis title: How State-Level Dynamics Shape Individual-Level Welfare Payments
Current position: Ph.D. Student in Sociology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Research interests: social inequalities, political sociology, public policy, religion, and quantitative methods
Brian Tussey (M.A. 2018)
Thesis title: Assessing Risks and Potential Protective Factors of Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization
Current position: AmeriCorps Teaching, Lincoln, Nebraska
Research interests: I examine dating violence perpetration and victimization, attachment, family experiences, and high-risk behavior among young adults in both the United States and Latin America. I also examine how sex education curricula deal with LGBTQ issues, as well as how LGBTQ students are represented in the curriculum.
Jennifer Andersen (M.A. 2017)
Thesis title: Not Infertile, Can’t Have Children: Non-Reproductive Health Barriers to a Wanted Child
Current position: Assistant Professor at University of Arkansas for Medical Services
Research interests: Sociology of Health, Sociology of Medicine, Life Course, Health and Aging
Shawn Ratcliff (M.A. 2017)
Thesis title: Protests in the Post-Cold War Era: World Systems Dynamics and Hardship Effects in Post-Colonial Countries
Current position: Ph.D. Student in Sociology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Research interests: political sociology, collective behavior and social movements, and social inequality.
Rosalind Kichler (M.A. 2016)
Thesis title: Understanding Transgender Community: Locating Support and Resiliency Using the Minority Stress Model
Current position: Ph.D. Student in Sociology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Research interests: I am interested in the ways in which LGBTQ+ persons construct their identities within a rapidly changing sociocultural context. Moreover, I examine how contemporary understandings of what it means to be “gay” influences LGBTQ+ community building.
Benjamin Forthun (M.A. 2016)
Thesis title: Fear and Loitering in Los Angeles: Contextualizing Fear in the Efficacy Framework
Current position: Ph.D student at University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA
Jacob Absalon (M.A. 2016)
Thesis title: Changing Public Opinion Towards LGB Rights: An Analysis of Data from the American National Election Studies, 1992-2012
Current position: Sociology Instructor, United States Military Academy West Point