I am a lifelong learner who aspires to learn, lead, and apply ideas that will advocate new educational platforms and policy that focus on the nontraditional learner and educational equity.  My decision to return to college stemmed from a desire to understand and learn more about the specific needs of the nontraditional college student and their process in pursuing educational and social equity.  My current research interests focus on the nontraditional student equity and access to services and resources that support a lifelong learning model by promoting the idea of a “social connectedness” within the college community.  Teaching within the community college environment has provided me an opportunity to support the student’s college experience and the resources and services that contribute to their educational success.  I discovered that individuals can play a significant role in influencing and developing students’ academic identity and their success by supporting educational pathways.

My goal for this course is to introduce you to the general perspectives of sociology and to articulate what it means to think sociologically.  We are not simply individuals with complete autonomy and self-determination, but rather social beings who both shape and are shaped by the social world in which we live.  A sociological analysis of the world is useful, valid, and worth developing. Sociology is an integral part of the kind of general education that makes us thoughtful and effective human beings.

I look forward to meeting all of you!

Professor Ross