News/Announcements
Sociology PhD student Natalia Duarte presented at United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
Natalia Duarte, a second-year Sociology PhD student, was one of 11 Pitt graduate students who presented their collaborative research, “Gender Equality in Public Administration in Conflict-Affected Settings: Opportunities & Challenges,” at the United Nations on Friday, March 15th. The presentation was organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a side-event of the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). UNDP and the Dietrich School supported Natalia’s trip to New York.
Natalia is part of a multi-disciplinary group of graduate students called the Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) Working Group, which is co-led by Professor of Sociology Melanie Hughes and Assistant Professor of International Development Müge Finkel. The Working Group is organized through and supported by the Ford Center for Human Security at the University of Pittsburgh, and their research is part of the Gender Inequality Research Lab (GIRL @ Pitt). This was the fourth consecutive year that the GEPA Working Group has traveled to the United Nations Headquarters in NY for a presentation, but the first time the Working Group presented at CSW.
Professor Melanie Hughes participated in a United Nations high-level roundtable discussion with cabinet ministers from the Dominican Republic, South Sudan, and Ireland
Melanie Hughes, Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Gender Inequality Research Lab (GIRL @ Pitt), participated in a high-level roundtable discussion on “Gender Equality in Public Institutions for Sustaining Peace” at the 63rd Commission on the Status of Women of the United Nations on Thursday, March 14th. Professor Hughes was joined by GIRL Co-Director and Assistant Professor of International Development Müge Finkel to present insights from their collaborative research on the ways armed conflict affects gender equality in public administration. Participants in the roundtable included the Colombian President’s High Advisor for Women’s Equality H.E. Ana Maria Tribin, South Sudan’s Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare H.E. Awut Deng Achuil, the Dominican Republic’s Minister of Women H.E. Janet Camilo Hernández, and Ireland’s Minister for Justice and Equality H.E. Charlie Flanagan, and was moderated by the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Senior Advisor for Gender Equality Ms. Raquel Lagunas.
The research that Professors Hughes and Finkel discussed was generated by a multi-disciplinary group of graduate students at the University of Pittsburgh called the Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) Working Group, which operates out of the Ford Center for Human Security. The students, led by Professors Hughes and Finkel, collaborated directly with UNDP on the research. Second-year Sociology PhD student Natalia Duarte was among the 11 GEPA Working Group’s graduate students who traveled to New York to present in a second event on Friday, March 15th. Graduating Sociology PhD student Samantha Plummer also worked with Professors Hughes and Finkel on the project, with support from the University of Pittsburgh’s Central Research Development Fund (CRDF).
You can view the event, which was livestreamed on Facebook by iKNOW Politics, by clicking on the link in the News tab on this page.
Professor Junia Howell’s research on disaster relief and social inequality profiled on NPR
Junia Howell, Assistant Professor of Sociology, has garnered national attention for her research on the distribution of public money after disasters. According to Professor Howell, wealth inequality is exacerbated by FEMA aid, and this is “particularly true along racial lines, along lines of education as well as home ownership versus renting.” Catch the transcript of the NPR story and Professor Howell interview by clicking the link in the News tab on this page.
PhD student Josh McDermott published in the journal Urban Studies.
Josh McDermott, a 4th year PhD student in the Department of Sociology, published his first sole-authored work in Urban Studies. His article, “Towards an Icon Model of Gentrification: Global Capitalism, Policing, and the Struggle for Iconic Spaces in Mexico City,” is now available (click the link in the News tab on this page). His research was supported by a Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences Summer Research Fellowship. Congratulations, Joshua!
Samantha Plummer appointed Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Columbia Justice Lab of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Congratulations to Samantha Plummer who has just accepted an appointment as Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Columbia Justice Lab of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University. Sam will be designing, managing, analyzing, and deriving sociological and policy insights from complex administrative, quantitative, and qualitative data from the New York Rikers Island Longitudinal Study and the Pennsylvania Solitary Study
Distinguished University Professor John Markoff has won the 2019 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring
Congratulations to Distinguished University Professor John Markoff, who has won the 2019 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring for his outstanding work as a graduate advisor.
Chie Togami selected to attend NSF-sponsored dissertation proposal improvement workshop
Congratulations to Chie Togami who has been selected to attend a competitive two-part NSF-sponsored dissertation proposal improvement workshop focused on problem-solving sociology to be held at Northwestern University in December 2018 and May 2019.