March (& a little April) 2026
Career Progression
Taylor Hunter (Sociology Master’s from PSU in 2025) will be entering Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in fall 2026!
Asif Mahmud (Sociology graduate student) secured the position of Operational Director for PSU’s Organizational Budget Committee (OBC) through an interview and reference check. OBC works directly with the Student Fund Committee at PSU. As the Operational Director, Asif will advise, approve budgets, and generate meeting agenda and minutes for PSU’s 78 student organizations with the goal of making informed decisions about the allocation of funds. The appointment lasts until Fall 2027 but is renewable upon successful completion.
Lizzie Stravens’s (Sociology undergraduate) Honors College thesis, Understanding the Experiences and Visibility of Asexual People and Guiding Policy to Effectively Protect Asexuality, was published to PDXScholar with Aaron Roussell (Sociology faculty) advising!
Sociology faculty and graduate students attended the 2026 annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association in Long Beach, CA.
Service and Leadership
Tina Burdsall (Sociology faculty) was the registration/volunteer co-coordinator for the 2026 annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association.
Hyeyoung Woo (Sociology faculty) arranged a talk by Dr. Sam Kendrick from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville: “love in the time of COVID: the pandemic’s unsettling of gendered dating.” Hyeyoung reports: “The talk went really well with a great turn out and lots of engaging questions!”
Presentations
Madi Lou Abel (Sociology graduate student) was asked by the PSA president to be on a panel titled "Stories from Fellow Sociologists: My Sociology Pathway". They spoke on their sociological journey at the 97th Annual Pacific Sociological Association Conference in Long Beach, CA in April 2026.
Tina Burdsall (Sociology faculty) presented “Teaching research when the topic is mortality: Mentorship, method, and emotional labor in an undergraduate thesis course” at the 2026 annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association.
Iris S. De Lis’s (Sociology graduate student) session proposal, Building Institutional Communities of Practice for Equitable Grading Reform, has been accepted for presentation at the Higher Ed Hive: Pacific Northwest Summit.
Eiryn Renouard (Sociology graduate student) presented her Master’s-thesis-in-progress, “Unmanned Aerial Support Program in Portland Police Bureau: A Case Study," at the 2026 annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association.
Rachel Springer (Sociology graduate student) was accepted to present, “The Place I Can’t Be”: LGBTQ+ Internal Displacement and the Limits of Sanctuary in the Pacific Northwest" at the LGBTQIA2S+ Studies in the Sociology of Sexualities Panel at the 2026 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association [co-authors: Miriam Abelson (Chair of PSU’s Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) and Amy Lubitow (Environmental Science and Management faculty)].
Awards
Tina Burdsall (Sociology faculty) was awarded the 2026 Academic Excellence Award For Non-Tenure Track Instructional Faculty. The award committee reviewed a competitive pool of excellent nominations this year and gave the nomination portfolios careful and thorough consideration and recognized the quality of your work and commitment to Portland State University. The award is given annually to a faculty member who has given distinguished service to the University in areas of exceptional teaching, research, or scholarship excellence evidenced through effective, inclusive, innovative, and/or research -informed contributions. It is evident from the nomination materials that your work is appreciated and admired by your colleagues and students.
Rachel Springer (Sociology graduate student) submitted her study, “Disability, Community Care, and Disaster Justice: Toward a Research Framework,” for consideration for the Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Sociology Honor Society, Graduate Student Paper Competition.