I have taught sociology since 1972, and have been here since 1983. At present I am assigned to the Provost's Office for work in faculty development. Half of my assignment is coordinating activities for faculty, and half of it is leading a process of exploring, planning and implementing a model for faculty development at Ithaca College.

Until May of 2008, I had been primarily teaching the Research Methods sequence, and I’m very proud of the work that our students do. In the past I taught in the area of the Sociology of Health and Medicine, and I remain fascinated by the effect of social factors on the body, and passionate about health care systems.

Many years ago I was an activist in women's health issues; probably what we now call a public sociologist. I wrote the first book on a women's health concern, "Coping with a Hysterectomy," in 1982, and I did a lot of work with the Boston Women's Health Book Collective who write "Our Bodies, Ourselves." It was a book for the general public but it was very sociological and very well-researched. I'm still proud of the impact I made with that work.

In my position in faculty development, I serve as Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence and get to work with faculty from across campus. The Research Methods class offered me the opportunity to put into practice many contemporary strategies for student learning. Now my "students" are mostly our new faculty.

I love being my age! I first taught during a time when student views were not taken seriously, when sociologists were not supposed to be engaged in the community, and when anything other than lecture was frowned upon. My colleagues and I struggled but I believe we have transformed undergraduate education. Now we hire new faculty members who have never known college other than what we created, and who want to put teaching undergraduates as their first priority. An essay reflecting on our legacy is attached.

My age also brings grown children, a daughter who recently completed a PhD in applied physics and a son who works in the financial sector in Russia. My four grandchildren from Moscow spend several weeks each summer with me, my partner, and our dog. Some recent photos are in the gallery.

We live in the Fall Creek area of downtown Ithaca. City living really works for me as I "train" for retirement: using the bus, walking lots of places, shopping in the resale shops. My office is far from the sociology area, over in the Center for Health Sciences, so I walk around campus a lot as well! I hope to see you around.