Sociology Faculty

Ryan Ceresola earned his Ph.D. at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, with a dissertation on the effects of US political corruption on voter turnout and citizen trust. His other research interests include criminology and criminal justice, civic engagement,environmental policies, and rural communities. His work has appeared in Sociological Perspectives, Rural Sociology, and Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. He has an MA in Sociology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a BA in Sociology and in English from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. He teaches courses in the field of criminology and criminal justice as wellas quantitative methods.

Elena Chernyak earned her Ph.D. at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She holds her MA degree in Journalism from Saint-Petersburg State University (St-Petersburg, Russia), Master of Religious Education from Assumption University (Canada), and Master of Social Work from the University of Windsor (Canada). In her doctoral dissertation, Elena examined risk factors for intimate partner violence in post-Soviet societies. Elena’s research interests encompass gender (i.e. gender ideology, politics, gender discourses and social institutes), gender-based violence, international marriage and relationships, and cultural and religious influence on behavior and identity. Her individual and collaborative studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated through a number of scholar conferences. Elena has over 10-years of teaching and research experience. She is a licensed Master Social Work and registered…