News & Events 2011

CFDR hosts Dr. Sara McClelland talk on "Sexual Satisfaction in Young Adults: A Multi-Method Approach to Sexual Expectations and Outcomes"

As part of the CFDR Speakers Series, on November 9th, 2011, Dr. Sara McClelland (Psychology and Women's Studies, University of Michigan) presented a powerful talk about the importance of theorizing and defining constructs when studying sexual satisfaction in young adults and the need for painstaking forms of construct validation. She presented her own research using anchored ladder, Q-Sort, survey, and semi-structured interview techniques.

CFDR hosts Dr. Xinyue Ye Talk on "Jurisdictional Boundaries and Crime Analysis: A Space-Time Perspective"

As part of the CFDR Speakers Series, on October 19th, 2011, Dr. Xinyue Ye (BGSU School of Earth, Environment, and Society and Research Affiliate, China Data Center, University of Michigan) presented a wide-ranging talk about new theories and spatial methodologies for exploring the locational and time distribution of crime incidents and rates with attention to the relationships between populations, residential and use places, jurisdictional and geographic boundaries, and the dynamics of cooperation and conflict between wide varieties of law enforcement agencies.

Susan Brown Presents at College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series

On October 18, 2011, Professor Susan Brown presented a distinguished lecture on "Partnering in Later Life: New Frontiers in Family Research," to honor her work on intimate partnering among older Americans. Today's older adults are less likely to be married than in previous generations, and Dr. Brown's research explores their creative new ways of exploring cohabiting and dating relationships.

CFDR hosts Dr. Jeremy Staff Talk on "Status Transitions and Health-Risk Behaviors"

As part of the CFDR Speakers Series, on October 12th, 2011, Dr. Jeremy Staff (Department of Sociology, the Pennsylvania State University) presented his multi-part project on family, school, and work transitions in young adulthood and health adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, using multiple cohorts from the Monitoring the Future data.

Professor Ralph Wahrman Passes Away on September 30, 2011

From his family

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, and brother Ralph Wahrman, of Bowling Green, OH, died on September 30, 2011 at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg, OH, surrounded by his family. He was 71. The cause was esophageal cancer. He is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Judith (Stober); their three children, Francine of Hilliard, OH, Eric (Emily) of Bowling Green, and Anna, of New York City; a brother, Harvey (Stephanie) of East Windsor, NJ; and five grandchildren, Sarah, Jacob, Chance, Samuel and Kendall. He was preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Jessie (Goldstein) Wahrman.

Born in New York City on October 22, 1939, he graduated from elite Stuyvesant High School before earning his bachelor’s degree at Queens College. He completed his master’s degree and Ph.D. at Michigan State University and was a professor of Sociology at Bowling Green State University for 34 years before retiring in 2001.

Ralph was a gentle soul and a dear man who was devoted to his family and loved nothing more than spending time with them. Full of dry wit and wise words, he was an avid reader who loved listening to and collecting Big Band jazz music, cooking for his family, observing Jewish traditions and the culture at large, and reading his daily New York Times.

CFDR hosts Dr. Jennifer Bulanda Talk on "And They All Lived Happily Ever After? Marital Quality, Marital Dissolution, and Mortality Risk during the Later Life Course"

As part of the CFDR Speakers Series, on September 21st, 2011, Dr. Bulanda (Dept. of Sociology and Gerontology, Miami University) presented her Health and Retirement Study (HRS) project, using 9 waves of data to explore the dynamics of marital quality and marital dissolution on mortality risks among older women and men in longterm marriages.

Lauren Rinelli McClain Earns BGSU Graduate College's 2010-2011 Distinguished Dissertation Award

Dr. Lauren McClain earned this year's competitive Distinguished Dissertation Award for her 2009 dissertation entitled "Father Involvement and Relationship Quality Among Cohabiting Parents." Her project used Fragile Families data to explore the correlates of father involvement among cohabiting couples with sophisticated techniques for measuring and assessing relationship quality. Her committee consisted of Drs. Susan Brown (Chair), and Al DeMaris, Kara Joyner, and Laura Sanchez. Since graduation, she has been working as an Assistant Professor at Savannah State University.

CFDR hosts Dr. Shawn Dorius Talk on "The Global Development of Egalitarian Beliefs"

As part of the CFDR Speakers Series, on September 14, 2011, Dr. Dorius (Population Studies Center, University of Michigan) presented his World Values Survey research with a sample of 84 countries to demonstrate that gender attitudes about public rights in education, paid employment, and politics became more egalitarian across the world.

National Research Council 2010 Report Ranks BGSU Sociology a Top Program

Bowling Green Sociology is a top-20 ranked program according to the National Research Council based on objective indicators of program quality. Our high overall ranking is due in part to the high rankings we received for research productivity and student support and outcomes.

Susan Brown and Wendy Manning win ASA Family Section's first Outstanding Article Award

Susan Brown and Wendy Manning were selected as the first winners of the new ASA Family Section Outstanding Article Award for their piece, "Family Boundary Ambiguity and the Measurement of Family Structure: The Significance of Cohabitation," Demography (2009) 46, 85-101.

Sociology colleagues celebrate Dr. Alan Booth

On Saturday, April 30, 2011, Susan Brown, Wendy Manning, and Gary Lee attended a celebration of Professor Alan Booth's illustrious and still exceedingly productive academic career at the Pennsylvania State University. As a former student of Dr. Booth's, Susan presented a talk entitled "Family Instability and Well-Being during Early Childhood." Our Gary Lee helped with the "roast," during the evening's closing festivities.

Sociology and CFDR colleagues earn 2011 PAA Poster Award

At this year's Population Association of America Annual Meetings in Washington, DC, graduate student, Tara D. Warner, and faculty, Raymond R. Swisher, Jorge M. Chavez, and Danielle C. Kuhl, earned a Poster Award for their outstanding paper, "Beyond a Variable-Centered Approach to Place: Identifying and Assessing Neighborhood Typologies." This award-winning poster and other PAA posters can be visited on the CFDR webpage: PAA Research!

Sociology, CFDR and NCFMR have banner 2011 PAA year. While our faculty always show strong dedication to the Population Association of America, this past year we had an outstanding presence at the Annual Meetings in Washington, DC. Several faculty worked with University of Michigan colleagues on the Program Committee to help organize sessions: Kelly Balistreri, Susan Brown, Kara Joyner, I-Fen Lin, Wendy Manning, Kei Nomaguchi, Laura Sanchez, and Ray Swisher. And 13 Sociology faculty were listed on this year's program as presenters, and 5 were additionally listed as Chairs or Discussants. Eight graduate students attended the meetings, and as noted above, we even had colleagues win a Poster Award. We were happy to say hello to old friends at our Alumni Table and proud that NCFMR hosted an informational research table at this year's meetings.

CFDR and NCFMR Hosts Spring 2011 Symposium

Baby Boomers and Family Changes in the 21st Century,Tuesday, March 15th, 2011, 8:30am-2:45pm, Room 201 BTSU

• "Close Relationships at Older Ages" -- Linda Waite, PhD
  Lucy Flower Professor in Urban Sociology, Department of Sociology, The University of Chicago
• "Gender Role Ideology Across Age, Time, and Generations: The Case for Baby-Boom Exceptionalism" -- Merrill Silverstein, PhD Professor of Gerontology and Sociology, Davis School of Gerontology and Department of Sociology, University of Southern California
• "Reinventing Widowhood? Some (Untested) Predictions about Baby Boomers & Spousal Loss" -- Deborah Carr, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy & Aging Research, Rutgers University