Recently, six of our faculty members were elected to leadership positions in the American Sociological Association (ASA).
Professor Ellen Berrey was elected to the ASA Publications Committee, with a 3-year term. The Publications Committee supports the ASA's publishing program in various ways such as appointing associate editors, recommending to Council editors for the Association's journals, changing the publications portfolio, and changing publications-related policies. Professor Berrey is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga and an affiliated scholar at the American Bar Foundation. Her research focuses on how law, organizational practice, and culture influence inequality.
Professor Chris M. Smith was elected as a Council Member of the ASA Crime, Law, and Deviance (CLD) section, with a 3-year term. The CLD section consists of more than 600 members who study law-violating behaviour and the organization and operation of law enforcement, judicial, or correctional processes. Professor Smith is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. Her areas of specialization include crime and inequality, feminist criminology, historical research methods, organized crime, political violence, social network analysis, sociology of gender, and urban sociology.
Professor Steve Hoffman was elected as a Membership Committee Chair of the ASA Environmental Sociology section, with a 2-year term. Members of the Environmental Sociology section study various topics such as the relationship between social systems and the ecosphere, the origins and impacts of technology, and the environmental causes of social change. Professor Hoffman is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. His areas of specialization include comparative ethnography, theory, science and technology studies, organizations, cultural sociology, political sociology, and social policy.
Professor Vanina Leschziner was elected as the Chair-Elect of the ASA Sociology of Culture section, with a 1-year term. Members of the Sociology of Culture section study the material products, ideas, and symbolic means and their relation to social behaviour. Professor Leschziner is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, St. George. Her areas of interest include social theory, social cognition, culture, organizations, and valuation and evaluation. Her current research is focused on cognition, cultural fields, and creativity.
Professor Sida Liu was elected as a Chair-Elect of the ASA Sociology of Law section, with a 1-year term. Members in this section exchange ideas related to the study of law, legal institutions, and law-related structures and processes. Professor Liu is an Associate Professor of Sociology, Mississauga and also holds a cross-appointment at the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. His areas of research interest include the sociology of law, organizations and professions, social theory, criminal justice, and globalization.
Professor Hae Yeon Choo was elected as a Council Member of the ASA Sociology of Sex and Gender section, with a 3-year term. Members of the Sex and Gender section study face-to-face interactions, political processes, culture and mass media, the medical, judicial, and educational systems. Professor Choo is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. Her research examines the intersections of race-gender-class, urban politics, citizenship and migration, and labour, with a regional focus on Korea and Asia.
Congratulations to all the faculty members who have been elected! We wish you all the best as you begin your leadership positions and thank you for your service to the profession.