Accolades

Each year, the Women & Gender Studies and the African & African American Studies programs confer special honor with the Sojourner Truth faculty award. We are excited to announce that Dr. Carol Cleaveland, Dr. Deborah Kwak, and Dr. Stefan Wheelock are the 2025 Sojourner Truth Faculty Award recipients! We appreciate their remarkable work.

Welcome to our monthly compilation of good news, gathered from CHSS faculty and staff!

Junghuyn Nam, a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology has been selected to participate in the Michigan Korean Studies Summer Institutue, a competitve one-week summer residential program as well as a Summer Doctoral Fellowship from Mason's Center for Humanities Research.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is proud to honor Olivia Blackmon, BA Sociology '99, MA '11, PhD '15, with the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award in Sociology and Anthropology. Blackmon boasts an impressive background with more than 20 years of professional experience in critical infrastructure, regional innovation, partnership development and business operations.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is proud to honor Amanda Magpiong, BA Anthropology '24, as the 2023 Senior of the Year. Magpiong is an Honors College student pursuing a bachelor's degree in both government and international politics and anthropology at George Mason University.

Sociology and Anthropology Professor Rashmi Sadana’s 2022 book The Moving City: Scenes from the Delhi Metro and the Social Life of Infrastructure was chosen as one of two finalists for the Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities Book Award, given by the Chicago Council for Global Affairs.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is proud to honor Miranda C. Martin, BA Anthropology '14, with the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award in Sociology and Anthropology.  Martin is a food systems researcher and food justice activist whose work has spanned the food chain from production to consumption. 

Congratulations to Maria Valdovinos Olson, a doctoral candidate in the Sociology program and research affiliate at the Movement Engaged Research Hub in the Center for Social Science Research. Maria was recently selected by Arizona State University, New College to receive a National Science Foundation Law and Science Dissertation Grant Award. Maria has also been selected as the recipient of the 2022 American Society of Criminology, Division on Corrections and Sentencing Dissertation Scholarship Award.

Don't miss the CHSS Community and Catalysts event on Thursday, November 18 at 7 p.m. Distinguished alumni, faculty, staff, and students will be recognized for their leadership, research, service, and contributions.