Faculty
Our current faculty pursues nationally and internationally recognized research on basic and applied social science questions. Four faculty members have received LSU's prestigious Rainmaker award for outstanding research, scholarship and creative activity.
Michael S. Barton
Associate Professor of Sociology
PhD, University at Albany, State University of New York
Office: 139 Stubbs Hall
Email: mbarto3@lsu.edu
Specializations: Criminology; urban sociology; gentrification & neighborhood change
Michelle Barton
Instructor of Sociology
PhD, University at Albany, State University of New York
Office: 11 Stubbs Hall
Email: michellebarton@lsu.edu
Specializations: Families; aging
Sarah Becker
Director of CCELL (Center for Community Engagement, Learning, & Leadership)
Associate Professor of Sociology
Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies
PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Office: 141 Stubbs Hall
Email: sbecker@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-7243
Specializations: Intersectionality; criminology; ethnography; communities
Dana Berkowitz
Associate Professor of Sociology
Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies
PhD, University of Florida
Office: 133 Stubbs Hall
Email: dberk@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-2619
Specializations: Gender; bodies; sexualities; qualitative methods; feminist & social theory
Troy C. Blanchard
Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Professor of Sociology
PhD, Louisiana State University
Office: 132 Hodges Hall
Email: troy@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-8273
Specializations: Social inequality; social demography; applied sociology
Chantel Chauvin
Program Codirector for the BA in Sociology for LSU Online
Senior Instructor of Sociology
PhD, Louisiana State University
Office: 137 Stubbs Hall
Email: cdufre3@lsu.edu
Specializations: Violent crime, delinquency, gender & crime, gun violence
Skylar C. Gremillion
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Senior Instructor of Sociology
PhD, Louisiana State University
Office: 110 Stubbs Hall
Email: sgremi3@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-1117
Specializations: Gender; law; inequality; online communications
Rhiannon A. Kroeger
Associate Professor of Sociology
PhD, Ohio State University
Office: 108 Stubbs Hall
Email: rkroeger@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-3898
Specializations: Health & Illness; family demography; quantitative methods
Matthew R. Lee
Interim Vice President for Agriculture & Dean, College of Agriculture
Professor of Sociology
PhD, Louisiana State University
Office: 156 Thomas Boyd Hall
Email: mlee@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-1786
Specializations: Criminology; public health; community resilience
Heather A. O’Connell
Assistant Professor of Sociology
PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Office: 20 Stubbs Hall
Email: hoconnell@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-4032
Specializations: Race & ethnicity; social stratification; spatial demography
Heather M. Rackin
Associate Professor of Sociology
PhD, Duke University
Office: 125 Stubbs Hall
Email: hrackin@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-5123
Specializations: Family formation & fertility; social inequality; social demography
Mark J. Schafer
Director of Graduate Studies
Associate Professor of Sociology
Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness
PhD, Indiana University
Office: 215 Martin Woodin Hall
Email: mschaf1@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-5357
Specializations: Sociology of education; comparative & global sociology; social inequality; rural
sociology
Edward S. Shihadeh
Professor of Sociology
PhD, Pennsylvania State University
Office: 107 Stubbs Hall
Email: edsoc@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-1635
Specializations: Criminology; urban sociology; race, ethnicity & immigration
Wesley M. Shrum, Jr.
Department Chair
Professor of Sociology
PhD, Princeton University
Office: 105B Stubbs Hall
Email: shrum@lsu.edu
Specializations: Technology (e.g., video, internet, mobile communication); Africa/Asia
Tim Slack
Professor of Sociology
PhD, Pennsylvania State University
Office: 104A Stubbs Hall
Email: slack@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-1116
Specializations: Social stratification & poverty; community & environment; social demography; rural
sociology
Kevin T. Smiley
Assistant Professor of Sociology
PhD, Rice University
Office: 110A Stubbs Hall
Email: ksmiley@lsu.edu
Phone:
Specializations: Environmental Sociology; community and urban sociology; disasters; health; race; immigration;
social capital
Ginger Stevenson
Program Codirector for the BA in Sociology for LSU Online
Senior Instructor of Sociology
PhD, Louisiana State University
Office: 119 Stubbs Hall
Email: gsteven@lsu.edu
Specializations: Criminology; interpersonal violence; deviance
Samuel Stroope
Associate Professor of Sociology
PhD, Baylor University
Office: 105A Stubbs Hall
Email: sstroope@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-0188
Specializations: Health inequalities; medical sociology; religion
William F. Tate IV
LSU President
Professor of Sociology
PhD, University of Maryland, College Park
Office: 3810 West Lakeshore Drive
Email: drichards@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-2111
Specializations: Sociology of education; stratification; geospatial science; public health; urban
sociology
Danielle J. Thomas
Instructor of Sociology
PhD, Louisiana State University
Office: 10 Stubbs Hall
Email: dthom68@lsu.edu
Specializations: Race & ethnicity; community development; sports
Mark H. Walker
Associate Professor of Sociology
PhD, University of Iowa
Office: 18 Stubbs Hall
Email: mwalk67@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-1114
Specializations: Social psychology; social networks; self & identity; mental health
Frederick Weil
Associate Professor of Sociology
PhD, Harvard University
Office: 17C Stubbs Hall
Email: fweil@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-1140
Specializations: Political sociology; comparative-historical; community & urban; disasters; poverty
& grassroots mentoring; survey research; photo/video ethnography; geospatial analysis