DR. ELLEN SCOTT
Ellen Scott is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon where she has taught for 24 years. Before that she was at Kent State University in Ohio for 4 years. Ellen’s research has focused primarily on the lives of low-wage workers and parents. As a qualitative researcher, through in-depth interviews she has examined the poor job conditions that characterize the service-sector economy—inflexible and unpredictable schedules, low wages and lack of workplace benefits like sick leave and health insurance—and the impact of those conditions on adults and children in the household. She has also examined the experiences of parents of children with disabilities, parents leaving welfare for work in the context of the ever-diminishing social safety net in the United States, and her research has been used consistently to influence public policies affecting the lives of low-wage workers. Ellen has also taught classes inside prisons in Oregon since 2010 and is passionate about access to education for people who are incarcerated. Ellen received her PhD in 1997 from the University of California, Davis and her BA in 1982 from Williams College. She is nearing the end of her teaching career and looks forward to having more time for her other passions—hiking and cross-country skiing, traveling, and spending time with her college-age daughter.