Sociology students shine

Two Baylor sociology students have received special honors recently in connection with their studies.

Sam Stroope, a doctoral candidate in sociology, has been awarded competitive funding to attend the 19th Annual Research And Development (RAND Corporation) Summer Institute.

The institute consists of two annual conferences that address critical issues facing the aging population. It will include the “Mini-Medical School for Social Scientists” and the “Demography, Economics, Psychology and Epidemiology of Aging.” Both conferences will take place in July in Santa Monica, Calif.

The summer institute is designed to help young scholars examine critical issues facing aging populations – including the interrelationships among health, economic status, socioeconomic factors and public policy. Stroope said the experience will aid him in his doctoral dissertation research about health disparities in India as well as research about aging and health among Hispanic Americans.

Meanwhile, sociology undergraduate Daniel Jang has accepted a prestigious Edwin Sutherland Fellowship at the University of Maryland’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

“The list of those who have held the fellowship represents a who’s who of prominent criminologists,” said Dr. Charles M. Tolbert, chair and professor of sociology. “This is a very big deal. Daniel was a hot property on the sociology/criminology graduate recruitment market this year.”

Jang, a senior University Scholar major from Waco, said he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in criminology and criminal justice and hopes to eventually conduct research and teach sociology and criminology at a research university.

“Receiving this offer was a great blessing and provided a special opportunity for me to further my studies at a very prestigious program,” Jang said. “I was honored to be able to positively represent Baylor University, especially the individuals and departments that provided me with support during and leading up to the application and decision-making process.

“I already felt that the graduate program at Maryland would be a good fit for me personally and for my professional development, so receiving the fellowship in addition to that was just icing on the cake,” he said.

A letter to Jang from the department stated that “this Fellowship is our most prestigious award and is offered to only a very small number of applicants each year. The program is intended to recruit the best and brightest students to our program and to support them for the duration of their graduate studies here.”

The fellowship includes a stipend of $35,000 for 12 months plus tuition remission, according to the University of Maryland website.

(News summaries courtesy of Baylor Media Communications)

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