Department Welcomes Dr. Michael Smyth.  Dr. Michael Smyth comes to Susquehanna University from the University of California at Irvine (UCI), where he received a Master's degree in Social Ecology (2004) and a Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society (2008). Smyth's research focuses on the ideological implications of legal meaning making and the relationship of legal meanings to the culture(s) and larger society that law represents and regulates. While completing dissertation research on the social construction of "prison rape," Smyth participated as an investigator in a congressionally mandated study on the causes and correlates of sexual violence in California carceral facilities.

Dr. Smyth taught a number of courses at UCI, including one on "hate crime" and, most recently, two senior seminars focusing on the intersection of gender, sexuality, and social control. During Fall 2008, Dr. Smyth will teach Principles of Sociology, Crime and Delinquency, and Sociological Theory. In Spring 2009, he will again teach Principles of Sociology, along with a course on Criminal Justice and a special topics seminar titled "Law, Punishment, and Modern Society." In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Smyth enjoys friends, dogs, cartoons, and laughing at life's many ironies.

SU in Macau.  Dr. Shari Jacobson will be the 2009 program director for Susquehanna University's exchange program with the University of Macau, in Macau, China. Students interested in studying in China for the spring semester of 2008-2009 academic year should contact Dr. Scott Manning, Director of Cross Cultural & Off-Campus Programs.