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Willingham Paper Wins Award
Breea Willingham, associate professor of criminology, received the Ralph Donald Award for presenting her paper, “Fatal (In)Visibility: Black Women, True Crime, and the Carceral Gaze on TV One,” presented at the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) conference.
Schneider Publishes Book Analyzing Volunteerism
Matthew Schneider, assistant professor of sociology, has published the book "Serving the Street: Volunteering and Charity, Racial Justice, and Poverty Tourism." in it, he analyzes volunteer homeless service efforts in St. Louis, Missouri, and where they morph into "poverty tourism."
Criminal Justice Expo Builds Connections with Regional Agencies
The newly sanctioned UNCW chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma, the national criminal justice honor society, held its first-ever Criminal Justice Expo under its belt.
Students Gain Real-World Experience in Australian Study Abroad Trip
Sociology and criminology students embarked on a three-week study abroad to Brisbane, Australia in summer 2025, where they worked with local faculty and NGOs around indigenous histories and museum spaces, as well as refugee community support initiatives.
Schneider to Collaborate with CMS
Matthew Schneider, assistant professor of sociology, has joined UNCW's Center for Marine Science as an affiliate faculty member. Schneider's work takes a critical social scientific approach to a number of environmental issues relevant to coastal communities, and he hopes to work with students with diverse academic interests and contribute to the interdisciplinary research agenda at CMS.
Cadena Examines Latino Political Opinions
Roger Cadena, assistant professor of sociology, has published the article "Examining Latino Voters Who Say 'I’m a Republican but not a Trumpster'" on LatinxTalk, an open-access site for peer-reviewed research. For his research, Cadena interviews a cross-section of Latino Republicans and independents, recording their nuanced attitudes and views on politics over the past decade.
Erin Michaels, associate professor of sociology, has published Test, Measure, Punish: How the Threat of Closure Harms Students, Destroys Teachers, and Fails Schools through NYU Press. In the book, Michaels centers her research on the impact of threatened public school closure on operations and student development, especially among Black and Hispanic student populations.
