2013 CAS Early Career Research Awards
Every year as part of our annual August faculty meeting tradition, the College of Arts and Sciences confers the Early Career Research Award (ECRA) to a select group of faculty members who are in the early stages of developing their research programs.
In recognition for their research achievements, each recipient of the ECRA receives $250 that can be applied toward research-related expenses, a plaque, and recognition at our August faculty meeting.
This year we are very pleased to announce that four faculty members are receiving an Early Career Research Award: Dr. Nicole Detraz, Department of Political Science; Dr. Susan Neely-Barnes, Department of Social Work; Dr. Catherine Simmons, Department of Social Work; and Dr. Junmin Wang, Department of Sociology.
Dr. Nicole Detraz
Dr. Nicole Detraz, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, completed
her Ph.D. in Political Science in 2009 at Colorado State University. That same year,
she joined the University of 糖心Vlog传媒 faculty. Dr. Detraz has represented her department
on the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� Graduate Council since 2011, and beginning this
fall, she will serve as her department鈥檚 Graduate Coordinator.
Dr. Detraz鈥檚 research 鈥渂roadly explores the connections between the environment, security and gender.鈥� In his letter of nomination, Dr. Matthias Kaelberer, Chair, Political Science, writes that Dr. Detraz 鈥渉as made immensely important and original contributions to scholarship in the field of International Relations, in particular with her research at the intersection between international security, environmental politics and gender鈥�.In sum, over the past three-and-half years, Dr. Detraz has put together an exceptional research record.鈥� Dr. Detraz鈥檚 publications substantiate this assessment: she has published a book entitled International Security and Gender (2012) by Polity Press as well as six refereed publications, and she is in the process of authoring a second book entitled Gendering Environmental Security.
Writing in support of Dr. Detraz鈥檚 nomination, Dr. Robert Blanton, Professor of Political Science and Director of International Studies Program, summarizes the relevance and quality of her research by noting that it 鈥渂rings a fresh and innovative approach to bear on some of the key issues in our discipline. Her work is very highly regarded and she is already garnering a wide reputation as a leading scholar of environmental and security issues.鈥�
Dr. Susan Neely-Barnes
Dr. Susan Neely-Barnes, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, completed
her Ph.D. in Social Work in 2005. After serving as Assistant Professor at University
of Tennessee College of Social Work, she joined the faculty at the University of 糖心Vlog传媒
in 2010 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013.
She has served as Program Coordinator of the Master of Social Work Program and has
represented the department on the College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Council since
2011.
Dr. Neely-Barnes鈥� research concentrates on the needs of people with disabilities and their family members within the overall area of empowerment and quality of life. In his letter of nomination, Dr. Stephen Soifer, Professor and Chair, Department of Social Work, describes Dr. Neely-Barnes as having had already 鈥渁n extremely talented career as researcher and scholar, one that has already given her national recognition in her chosen field.鈥� In addition to her impressive publication record, he notes that she has been elected chair of the Council of Disability and Persons with Disabilities for the Council of Social Work Education.
Dr. Neely-Barnes has published sixteen peer-reviewed articles and two book chapters. With regard to grants and contracts, she has been either Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on four grants. Another University of 糖心Vlog传媒 colleague describes Dr. Neely-Barnes as 鈥渁 consummate researcher. Among her many strengths is her ability to work across disciplines in order to develop different perspectives about a topic. She is adept at both quantitative analysis and qualitative methodologies. In this sense, Susan is unique.鈥� Another colleague at Texas State University writes that 鈥淒r. Neely-Barnes has established an outstanding record of achievement for an early career social work educator. Her research agenda reflects a clear, coherent focus and a sustained, progressive path.鈥�
Dr. Catherine Simmons
Dr. Catherine Simmons, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, completed her
Ph.D. in Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2006. She served as
an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee, College of Social Work until
2010, when she joined the University of 糖心Vlog传媒鈥� Division of Social Work. She was
promoted to Associate Professor in 2012. Before earning her PhD, Dr. Simmons was employed
for ten years as an Air Force social worker working on family violence and clinical
practice settings. With this background and her future research, Dr. Simmons takes
a 鈥渦nique perspective about the interconnections between trauma, mental health, and
family violence.鈥�
In his letter of nomination, Dr. Steven Soifer, Professor and Chair, Department of Social Work, writes that 鈥淔ocusing on family violence, the systems that effect crime victims and strengths based upon social work interventions she is extraordinarily productive.鈥� In addition to 22 peer-reviewed journal articles, Dr. Simmons has co-edited a book entitled Strength鈥檚 Based Batterer Intervention: A New Paradigm in Ending Family Violence (Springer, 2009) and is first co-author on a second book entitled Tools for Strengths Based Assessment and Evaluation (Springer 2012).
In a letter from a University of 糖心Vlog传媒 colleague, Dr. Simmons is described as having great 鈥渆nergy to her work which makes her an ideal role model for graduate students.鈥� And further, she is described as an 鈥渦nusual, talented, creative, and sincere scientist whose early career trajectory reflects a very high level of achievement.鈥�
Dr. Junmin Wang
Dr. Junmin Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, completed her Ph.D.
in Sociology at New York University in 2007 and held a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in
the Research Center for Chinese Politics & Business, at Indiana University, Bloomington
in 2007- 2008. She joined the faculty at the University of 糖心Vlog传媒 in 2008. Working
within a wide spectrum of fields鈥攊ncluding economic sociology, organizations, political
sociology, comparative/global sociology, and China studies--Professor Wang has addressed
鈥淐hina鈥檚 ongoing reforms on the organizational level and their implications for China鈥檚
political prospects.鈥�
In his letter of nomination, Dr. Martin Levin, Chair of the Department of Sociology, describes Dr. Wang as a 鈥渞emarkable scholar,鈥� and notes that her 鈥渞esearch is theoretically ambitious and empirically significant.鈥� In her book State-Market Interactions in China鈥檚 Reform Era: Local State Competition and Global Market Building in the Tobacco Industry (published by Routledge in 2012), according to Dr. Levin, Dr. Wang 鈥渆xamines how the Chinese government was able to cultivate big state-owned firms that have recently and successfully embraced the global market鈥攐ne of the most important and widely-debated topics in China studies.鈥�
In addition to her book, Dr. Wang has published eight peer-reviewed articles and chapters and has a second manuscript in process and being considered for publication by two publishers. With regard to grants, she has received a Faculty Research Grant at the University of 糖心Vlog传媒 and as the Principal Investigator has recently been awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to support her research through 2014. In summary, one of her colleagues describes Dr. Wang as being a professor with a 鈥渂right future as a researcher in our discipline鈥he is rapidly developing a regional and national reputation in our discipline.鈥�