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Home > College of Arts and Sciences > Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice > MS Sociology > Faculty

Faculty

Dr. Chet Ballard	Dr. Carl Hand
Dr. Daniel Nehring	Dr. Mark George
Dr. Kathleen S. Lowney	Dr. Ginger Macheski
Dr. Michael Capece	Dr. Tracy Meyers
Dr. Katherine Schmidt

 

Dr. Michael Capece,Interim Department Head
Hello, my name is Michael Capece and I am an Associate Professor of Sociology. Before coming to Valdosta State University I lived in the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area. During my time in Florida, I was in private practice and also taught courses in sociology and criminology at the University of South Florida and St. Leo College.

I earned my Ph.D. from the University of Florida My areas of teaching/practice interest are sociological practice, mental health, substance abuse, and criminology/deviance. I have published in the areas of sociological practice, employee assistance programs, and family sociology. I am currently working with the faculty in Criminology and Law at the University of Florida researching drinking behavior of college students and testing Ronald Akers’ Social Structure/Social Learning theory of criminal and deviant behavior. I hold counseling licenses in Georgia and Florida and have a private practice in Valdosta.

Over the years I have benefited from the flexibility of my degree in sociology. It prepared me for employment as a clinical practitioner, supervisor, teacher, and applied researcher. I would be happy to discuss the career opportunities that a Masters Degree in Applied Sociology would afford you.

Dr. Chet Ballard, Coordinator of the Socioligy Graduate Program
I am a humanist sociologist by choice and training with strong applied interests and a generalist's perspective. My work with students involves service to the local food bank, community policing, and school violence issues. I teach a variety of sociology courses including Sociological Analysis of Education in VSU's Education Doctoral program.
For fun and self-torture I play lousy golf, follow college and pro sports as a spectator and fan (Go Blazers!), and maintain a regular exercise schedule of aerobics classes at the Y. My current research and writing is focused on classical social theory for an introductory sociology student audience and prevention of school violence. I live out in the sticks with my wife, three stray happy-go-lucky dogs who have adopted us, and two grouchy house cats. I am a member of the Commission on Applied and Clinical Sociology and have held the post of president of the Association for Humanist Sociology and the Georgia Sociological Association.

Dr. Kathleen S. Lowney
I think for as long as I can remember, I read about religion. And I watched people. I remember going to Seattle Seahawks games and watching the people more than the football game! So it seems to make sense that I decided to major in both Sociology and Comparative Religions as an undergraduate. Then I chose to go to graduate school and study Religion and Society. That, in fact, is what I got my Ph.D. in at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. I studied a religious group called "the Unification Church," more commonly known as "the Moonies." In particular, I interviewed 50 couples and asked them about their gender role divisions in their marriage.

One stream of my research is easy to explain; it goes like this. After graduation, I got married and moved to Valdosta. And I needed a new research topic and well, one fell into my lap. I began a 6 year ethnographic project studying teenage Satanism. And the more I studied them, the more I began to realize that there were perceptions (or misperceptions) about Satanists and that much of those perceptions came from television talk shows, such as The Geraldo Rivera Show. So I ordered all talk show transcripts about Satanism and analyzed them. When I did that, I realized that these talk shows were pretty interesting! And so I decided to write a book about the "religion of recovery" on talk shows.

And now? Well, I am in the early stages of writing about professional wrestling, especially the WWF. The first article is an analysis of professional wrestling as soap opera for men. My second article is on how the WWF parodied one of its critics, the Parents Television Council, by creating the wrestling faction, Right To Censor. So if you are a fan of The Rock, 'Taker, Jericho, or any other wrestler -- stop by and chat a while!! 

 

Dr. Carl Hand, Coordinatior of the Sociology Undergraduate Program
I like to think of myself as having diverse sociological interests. My graduate training at the University of TN, Knoxville, focused primarily on environmental issues, population problems, and social movements. I have kept these interest areas but I have also written on the discipline of sociology, particularly changes in the number of undergraduate and graduate students in sociology and the fragmentation of sociology into different specialty areas. I've recently become interested in community sociology-the place where almost all sociological interests come together. My current writing efforts involve the greening of Christianity, and teaching social theory. I guess I owe my eclecticism to a broad liberal arts education. For hobbies, I scuba dive and mountain bike and try to otherwise stay physically active. I also like playing guitar and piano for relaxation. 

Dr. Ginger Macheski
Sociology was not even something I had ever heard of before I went to college, (the first person in my family to do so) but over time sociology became both my world view and my vocation. As an undergraduate I was a psychology major and I was politically active. Through the peace movement and the women’s movement, I learned to ask why? who benefits? and maybe more importantly why not? which left room for social change. Right along beside me asking the same questions and with some answers were Sociology faculty at Michigan State. So it made sense when I decided upon more school after my B.A. to apply to Sociology graduate programs. With a brief sojourn to Purdue, I returned to M.S.U. and 10 years, one husband, a number of jobs, and two children later, I received my Ph.D. My sociology has been informed by a constant critical perspective (ask my children about this!) and a desire to communicate and apply what we as sociologist learn about the world to others.

Fifteen years ago, I came to Valdosta State University. Moving to South Georgia brought many positive things to my life, two more children, numerous cats and dogs, a horse, a house and a lot of friends. To my sociology, this move has sharpened my applied focus. Most of my work here in Valdosta has been working on local issues with local groups ranging from how do you change P.T.O.’s to be more multi cultural and inclusive to documenting the existence of institutionalized racism in the community with Levi-Strauss’ Project Change. Another applied focus has been my interest in teaching and the teaching of sociology. I have been very active with the ASA’s (American Sociological Association) Teaching Resource Center editing collections of teaching materials, writing about teaching and giving teaching workshops. In the Department, I teach family, research methods, statistics, and inequality courses.

Dr. Tracy Meyers
A Florida native, I moved to Valdosta and have been teaching at Valdosta State University since 1994. Prior to earning my Ph.D. in family relations at Florida State University, I worked ten years in the human service field five of which were with abused and neglected children. Because of my work experience and education, I was hired to teach in both the sociology and marriage and family therapy programs. As a result of teaching in two programs, I have taught a wide range of courses including marriage and the family, social welfare, sociology of the family, domestic violence, crisis intervention, gender, human sexuality, family stress and crisis, family development, and research methods. My specializations however, are in traumatic stress, family violence, and crisis intervention. I have conducted research and published articles concerning secondary traumatic stress symptoms in child protective service workers. In addition, I am a Certified Family Life Educator and Certified Disaster Mental Health Counselor for the American Red Cross.