The Department As the most comprehensive of the social sciences
sociology seeks to understand the ongoing human construction of the
worlds we inhabit. Its affinity for the liberal arts tradition, we
think, is obvious. By fostering what we sociologists like to call the
sociological imagination (Mills 1961) we engage ourselves
and our students with a multifaceted, interdisciplinary, critical
consciousness of the complex and dynamic inter-relationships between
individuals, groups, and socio-cultural structures and systems. We do
this by drawing as freely as possible from across the disciplines in an
effort to create knowledgeable, culturally literate, politically astute
world citizens well-rounded by a liberal arts education. The Department
of Sociology at GVSU began to take on its current form in 2000 when it
split from its former partners in the joint department of sociology,
anthropology, and geography. Since that time we have evolved into a
department with eighteen full-time faculty and a relatively steady
number of about 130 majors. Our faculty have attained local, national,
and international recognition for scholarship, service, and teaching.
Our students are active in the campus and local community. In recent
years we have had great success with graduate school placements. Our
students have either been accepted to or gone on to enroll in graduate
programs at Brandeis, The Ohio State University, the University of
California at Davis and at Santa Barbara, and Arizona State University
among others. The Sociology Department is currently a major contributor
to the University-wide General Education program, the Honors College and
interdisciplinary programs. Members of our department regularly teach
three courses in the Social Science Foundations, one World Perspectives
Courses, and eight courses in U.S. Diversity. The department teaches
nine issues courses in five of the issues categories. In an average
academic year, approximately 70% of the sections we teach are designated
General Education. While we see our heavy commitment to general
education and to other programs as wholly appropriate and even natural
given the critical and multi-paradigmatic character of sociology it also
presents significant challenges. We struggle to meet our teaching
commitment and typically rely on adjuncts and visitors. Our current
strategic plan positions us to do well in the coming years. We are
forward thinking with our faculty goals, curriculum and student needs.
For example, we recognize our great need to hire more faculty and reduce
our reliance on adjuncts and include in our plan our goals for hiring
more tenure track faculty. We look to integrate more opportunities for
our students to think outside the box, for example through the Sociology
Colloquium or community partnerships. We believe we are evolving to meet
the needs of students and our university through curriculum revision of
our major, minor and aging and adult minor. Every day we strive to
provide our students with the best preparation and education for their
future. While this will always be a moving target, we hope our current
strategic plan moves us forward in this endeavor in positive ways for
the coming years.
Mission
The Sociology Department is a student-centered, diverse, and inclusive
learning community that engages in critical social inquiry extending
knowledge to enrich individual and public life.
Vision
We are dedicated to the teaching, production, critical examination,
diffusion and application of social knowledge in its many forms. We will
prepare our students to critically analyze and theorize the empirical
realities of our social world. We will foster a diverse and inclusive
community of social inquiry, discourse, discovery, expression, and reflection.
Value Statement
The Sociology Department values:
Excellent teaching in the liberal arts tradition through active
student-teacher engagement and achievement supported by
appropriate class size and a high proportion of permanent faculty.
Intellectual inquiry and discourse among faculty and students.
The production of scholarship that engages and informs
sociological areas of study.
Service to the Sociology Department, the college, university,
our profession and the community.
Strategic Priorities, outcomes, and key objectives
Strategic Priority Area 1: Actively engage learners at all levels.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Outcome B: Grand Valley is diverse and inclusive.
Outcome C: Grand Valley has mutually beneficial relationships, partnerships, collaborations, and connections with local, state, national, and world communities.
Outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.
Outcome E: Grand Valley strategically allocates its fiscal, human, and other institutional resources.
Strategic Priority Area 2: Further develop exceptional personnel.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Outcome B: Grand Valley is diverse and inclusive.
Outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.
Strategic Priority Area 3: Ensure the alignment of institutional structures and functions.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Outcome B: Grand Valley is diverse and inclusive.
Outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.
Strategic Priority Area 4: Enhance the institution's image and reputation.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Outcome B: Grand Valley is diverse and inclusive.
Outcome C: Grand Valley has mutually beneficial relationships, partnerships, collaborations, and connections with local, state, national, and world communities.
