Dear Colleagues:
Our organization is committed to serving and increasing our membership at all levels: faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and retired professionals. We encourage your active participation in the organization. Nominate yourself or a colleague for one of the board member positions or ask us about PSS committees that would welcome your enthusiasm and experience. Our website is currently being updated and improved, so please check in often.
Last year, our theme for the annual meeting was "Teaching Social Issues in Difficult Times." Our keynote speakers emphasized educational stratification, including race, class, and gender issues, as well as the potential for using the content of printed news media as a teaching tool. This year, the focus is on the application of sociology to create positive social change. We will highlight such topics as active learning in/outside the classroom (including service learning, internships, and co-ops), as well as action- and community-based research, public policy, and sociological practice.
I hope that the conference experience will be professionally and personally rewarding for everyone. Since its earliest days, our discipline has sought to create a better world. Let us put into practice Gandhi's quote from the entrance to our website:
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Sincerely,
Libby Larsen
