Kristjane Nordmeyer

Promotion Portfolio 2012

My contribution to research and scholarship during my five years at Westminster College includes community-based research, community presentations, mentoring and preparing students for national conferences, staying current in my discipline by attending and presenting at national conferences, and having my work accepted for publication in sociology books and journals. 

Publications: During the last two years I have had two publications and one paper submitted for peer review. The first was a review for Teaching Sociology, the leading teaching journal within sociology. The second publication, co-authored with Dr. Rebecca Utz, (forthcoming in the Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality) is entitled "Menopause" and draws on my background in aging and my teaching experience in the area of sexuality. I also recently submitted a journal article, co-authored by Dr. Heather Melton, entitled "Intimate Partner Abuse: A Focus on Protective Order Violations" to the peer-reviewed journal Criminal Justice Review. This journal article comes out of my work on domestic violence cases in Salt Lake City.

 Teaching Sociology - Brutal Beauty Tales of the Rose City Rollers

 Criminal Justice Review - Intimate Partner Abuse 

 Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality - Menopause

Community-based research: Fall 2011 I began working with Utahns Against Hunger on a  $7500 grant from Walmart for anti-hunger research. Yes, I know, Walmart. Anti-hunger research. While the paradox of using Walmart money to fund anti-hunger research was not lost on me (or later, my students), I felt that the importance of the research and the $25 gift cards provided to the (usually very low-income) participants justified using the funds. So, I began the process of moving forward with a research proposal that would seek to understand the social barriers to free breakfast utilization. Some school districts had high rates of free lunch utilization, but low breakfast participation. And the vast majority of the research emphasized the benefits of school breakfast from a nutritional standpoint, but did not address the barriers to participation. This is where the Applied Sociology class comes in. In Spring 2012, I facilitated a class for students to gain experience working with a non-profit organization on research using principles from participatory action research. Working as a group with Utahns Against Hunger and in partnership with local elementary schools, we were able to design and distribute a survey and collect some preliminary results. While it was somewhat difficult to find schools that were willing to participate, we were able to collect data from two local schools. Furthermore, the survey we designed in English and Spanish is still being used to collect and analyze breakfast assessment data. Preliminary findings suggest that school breakfast timing and transportation issues are the biggest barriers to breakfast utilization. Utahns Against Hunger can use this data to persuade decision-makers of the merits of free breakfast in the classroom for all students.

Conference presentations: I regularly attend and present at the American Sociological Association's (ASA) annual conference. ASA is the largest and most prestigious conference for sociologists. Over the last five years I have presented my work on elder caregiving, including two papers titled "The Division of Household Labor and Care Work Among Spouses" and "The Intergenerational Transmission of Care Roles from Mother to Offspring: The Role of Family Structures and Ideologies." Both of these papers reflect my interest in caregiving (or care work), the sexual division of labor, and aging. I also co-presented a well-received presentation with Mark Rubinfeld entitled "Developing the Ideal Sociology Program and Senior Capstone Experience."

Student conference presentations: For the last two years I have worked with Mark Rubinfeld as a co-organizer and moderator of the undergraduate student panels at the annual Popular Culture and American Culture Association's national conference. This conference gives our students the opportunity to present alongside undergraduates from around the country and gain valuable academic experience for graduate school. Many of the students we take to this national conference are now enrolled in graduate school, including here at Westminster College and at Boston College.

Community presentations: I enjoy the opportunity to share my passion for teaching with the larger campus and Salt Lake City community. In 2011 I participated in two community presentations. The first was a well-attended co-presentation with Lesa Ellis, titled "Sex 101", in the Vieve Gore Concert Hall. The second was a workshop titled "The Intersections of Privilege in Everyday Life" presented at the 3rd Annual Transaction Gender Conference: Beyond on Binary, held on Westminster campus.