Colorado State University Department of Sociology

Congratulations to Stephanie Malin, a 2026 CSU College of Liberal Arts Interdisciplinary Scholarship Award winner!

“The Center for EJ often works to initiate collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects, grant proposals, and outreach efforts with local governments, community partners, and other institutions across the US and throughout the world. Stephanie has been centrally involved in many of these efforts, and has led and worked on teams with communications experts, historians, engineers, environmental policy analysts, nuclear scientists, atmospheric scientists, climate scientists, and geographers.” – Mindy Hill, Managing Director, Center for Environmental Justice

Congratulations, Stephanie!

Many thanks to Sociology donors who contribute to our Alumni Impact Fund! Your support makes professional development possible for our graduate students.

Here’s what a recent recipient had to say about the importance of her experience: “This conference was a really meaningful experience for me. As a first-year master’s student, attending and participating in spaces like this really built my confidence in my research and inspired me to be more connected to the broader academic community. I am genuinely grateful to the alumni whose generosity helps make these opportunities possible for students like me.” – Carissa Fostervold, a SOC M.A. student researching poverty, SNAP, and policy

Alumni Impact Fund contributions of any size are greatly appreciated! If you’re interested in supporting our students and helping match a generous gift from SOC alumnus Robby Laitos (‘83), please visit the link in our bio. Thank you!

Congratulations to Dr. Tara Opsal, next William E. Morgan Endowed Chair, the highest faculty honor in the College of Liberal Arts!

Check out the 🔗 in our bio to find out how the Morgan Chair will allow Dr. Opsal to expand her Criminal Justice and Victimization Institute (CJVI) over the next three years as a hub for community-engaged, interdisciplinary research across Colorado.

“Tara Opsal is a tremendous colleague in the College of Liberal Arts—both as a scholar and a leader,” said Dr. Kjerstin Thorson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “Her work with CJVI will help create meaningful change in our justice systems. That change will emerge in partnership with our communities—as it should—representing the very best engaged scholarship that emerges from our disciplines and reflecting the legacy of President Morgan’s vision for CSU.”

Congratulations, Dr. Opsal!

Shout out to .kotaba who graduated last spring and was very quickly promoted from Judicial Intern to Law Clerk for the Second Judicial District Courthouse in Denver, Criminal Division.

Alex returned to campus this spring to share her experiences and insights with students. “Sociology touches on everything. It helps with everything. In the law space particularly, sociology helps you understand people. As an attorney, as a litigator, or whatever you’re doing in law, you have to be able to understand people – to present a case to a jury, to tell a story, to determine what’s in the client’s best interests. Sociology is extremely helpful in a lot of spaces.”

Thank you, Alex! You rock!

Congratulations, SOC graduates & Sociologists! 💚🐏💛 We’re very proud of you!

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Congratulations, SOC graduates & Sociologists! 💚🐏💛 We’re very proud of you!
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🐏🎉Today we celebrate the recipients of Sociology’s 2025-2026 graduate student awards:

Emilia Ravetta — Graduate Student Research Excellence (PhD)

Polina Kopeikin — Outstanding Graduate Student Paper (MA)

Amber Obermaier — Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor

Jenny Allen — Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Assistant

We had outstanding submissions for each award, and it was very competitive! Thank you to everyone who made nominations, to the many faculty who submitted GTA recommendations, and of course to everyone who contributes to our department’s teaching and research.

Congratulations Emilia, Polina, Amber, and Jenny!

Congratulations to Dr. Nefratiri Weeks who successfully defended her dissertation entitled “Moon Mining: Imperialism’s Next Frontier or Democratic Cooperation?”

Nefratiri’s dissertation takes a long durée approach to analyzing governance of the moon and its resources, identifying how systems of space governance have been developed and transformed. She traces how processes of democracy and imperialism have shaped moon governance and argues that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and 1979 Moon Agreement provide natural bridges to global democracy for the moon.

Doctoral Committee members: Drs. Laura Raynolds, KuoRay Mao, Jessie Luna, and Dimitris Stevins (Political Science)

Nefratiri, you rock! Thank you for the many incredible contributions you’ve made to CSU SOC over the years. Best wishes for your next chapter!

Faculty, students, community members – come one, come all!

Please join us for Finding Hope in Community: A Mutual Aid Teach-In this Saturday, May 2, from 1-3pm in LSC 304-306.

Together we’ll watch “Screening of “Fire,” the first installment of The Elements of Mutal Aid series. Then a panel of local mutual aid and community organizers will collectively discuss action and impact, followed by Q&A and resource sharing.

Congratulations to Ph.D. student Yue Xu, 2026 recipient of the Rural Sociological Society (RSS) Dissertation Research Award!

Yue’s dissertation examines China’s seafood regime across production, processing, and consumption while shedding light on the hidden human, social, cultural, and environmental costs of rural development.

This RSS award supports graduate student research that advances the field of rural sociology and helps foster the development of future rural sociologists. It recognizes dissertation research that demonstrates strong scholarly promise and contributes meaningfully to understanding rural people, places, and processes.

Guided by Dr. Laura Raynolds, Yue’s research and scholarly trajectory exemplify the purpose and spirit of this award!