Presidential Fellowship in Sociology
State Policy, Migration
& Gender
Utah State University
The Sociology Program
at Utah State University seeks applicants for a Presidential Doctoral Research
Fellow with research interests in state policy, migration and
gender.The Presidential Fellow will receive an annual stipend of $20,000
for four years. Qualified applicants will have an MS in sociology or a related
field, GRE scores above the 70th percentile and a cumulative GPA
above 3.5. The Presidential Fellow will work closely with sociology faculty on
one of several on-going research projects related to policy, migration and
gender. These projects are summarized below.
Applicants should
complete an application and provide a letter of intent outlining one's research
interests, curriculum vitae, a writing sample, official transcripts and GRE
scores and three letters of reference. To apply for the position go to http://sociology.usu.edu/grad summary.aspx. We will begin reviewing applicants on
February 1, 2013 and will continue until a qualified candidate has been
selected. The Sociology Program is committed to excellence through diversity,
and we strongly encourage applications from women, persons of color, ethnic
minorities, international students, veterans and persons with disabilities.
Utah State University
is located in Logan, Utah, a small city of almost 50,000 people nestled in the
Wasatch mountain range. Utah is an important new immigration destination with
one of the fastest-growing Hispanic populations in the country. Logan is also an
ideal location from which to pursue diverse outdoor recreation opportunities –
either in the canyons and mountains that surround Logan or in the many national
parks located in nearby mountains and in Utah's famous red rock desert country.
Gendered
Immigration Patterns in New Destination States
PI: Dr. Erin Hofmann, Assistant Professor of Sociology
The geographic diversification of immigration to the U.S.—bringing
international migrants to both urban and rural areas that had previously
experienced little immigration—has received a great deal of attention, while
the fact that the ratio of men to women among migrants varies widely across
different destination states is less well known. New destination states provide
an excellent opportunity to study the ways in which the job market, the political
climate, living conditions, and cultural norms make some destinations more
appealing to men, and others to women. This study will identify the factors
that attract male and female migrants to specific destinations using both
survey data and interviews with migrants. In doing so, this study will identify
factors behind the geographic diversification of immigration to the U.S., with
a specific focus on the gender aspects of this trend.
Communities
at Risk for National Guard Deployment
PI: Dr. Amy Bailey, Assistant Professor of Sociology
More than 30% of military personnel returning from deployment to Iraq
and Afghanistan return with some form of cognitive or psychological injury
(Jaycock & Tanielian 2008). To the extent that deployed National Guard
soldiers – "citizen soldiers” – return to their communities of origin, their
communities may face particular challenges in meeting their medical and mental
health needs. This project examines the
extent of National Guard deployment – a temporary, policy-driven form of
migration – on communities in several states within the U.S. Specifically, it identifies the social,
economic, and demographic characteristics of communities whose members are at
greatest risk for National Guard deployments, as well as their spatial
distribution. It will employ
administrative data on individual National Guard enlistees, linked to their
community characteristics via their home ZIP Code of record.
Global Migrants, Guest Workers and Good Mothers: Gender and
(Con)Temporary Labor Migration to Spain
Co-PI: Dr. Peggy Petrzelka, Associate Professor of Sociology
Co-PI: Dr. Christy Glass, Associate Professor of Sociology
This project analyzes a
novel circular migration program currently being touted as a model for the
future of migration management in the European Union. Policy makers and
employers in Spain’s strawberry industry have designed and implemented a pilot
guest worker program that exclusively targets Moroccan women with dependent
children. This practice is guided by the assumption that mothers’ emotional
attachments to children will compel their return to their home country
following the expiration of their contracts. After several experiments with
various categories of workers, employers have come to view mothers as the ideal
worker due to their discipline in the fields and willingness to return home.
The success of this program has led EU policy makers to tout this model as a
"win-win” for citizens, workers and industry and a model to be replicated
throughout the EU. Analysis of this program will inform theory, scholarship and
policy on immigration, employment practices and gender in the global economy.