Acknowledgements
No one achieves things without help along the way. No acknowledgement page should begin without a recognition of one's parents. Robert Chin (1918-1990) had a Ph.D. in Psychology from Boston University http://www.columbia.edu and worked for more than thirty years at Boston University http://www.bu.edu in their Department of Psychology and the Human Relations Center. Ai-li Shen (1919-) came to the United States from Shanghai to attend Colby-Sawyer http://www.colby-sawyer.edu (then a 2-year "junior" college) and finished her bachelor's degree at Wellesley http://www.wellesley.edu. She earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from that other little school in Boston, Radcliffe http://www.harvard.edu and spent most of her adult life as a mother, wife, and part-time worker out of the home. Of course, since Robert was a (social) psychologist and Ai-li was a sociologist, little Jeffy had to become of a sociologically-trained social psychologist. (If you only knew how long and circuitous a trip that was, you'd know that there was neither genetic nor social influence in this particular outcome.)
Thanks to all the teachers and friends at Browne & Nichols school http://www.bbns.org (and again to my parents for paying for it!). A special thanks for George Deptula, my 10-12 grade Russian teacher who envisioned a Russian Chorus, Ridgeway Banks and Ventura, who suffered as music teachers in a boys' school, Dom Degnon, my 8th grade English teacher and varsity soccer coach.
Thanks also to the professors and friends at Trinity College http://www.trincoll.edu where I double-majored in Sociology and Psychology. Influential in my intellectual development were Noreen Channels and John Brewer, Department of Sociology and Andy Baum, Department of Psychology.
Thanks to the professors and friends at the University of Michigan http://www.umich.edu where I earned a Master's and Ph.D. in Sociology with a concentration in social psychology. Bob Ross, visiting from Clark University http://www.clarku.edu gave me my first job which was instrumental in keeping me in school. Max Heirich, Lee Hamilton and Andy Modigliani also kept me in work and got me out of social organization and into social psychology. But it was Bill Gamson who turned me on to game simulation and the realization that sociology could be FUN.
Next stop was a three-year full-time temporary position at Central Michican University http://www.cmich.edu as an instructor. Rich Senter was instrumental in hiring me and he and Mary Senter were my first parents at CMU. Cardell Jacobson was my first officemate and he and Roseanne became my second set parents in Mt. Pleasant.
In 1983, I attended my first annual meeting, the Eastern Sociological Society http://www.essnet.org in Baltimore, quite by accident, and got a job interview with Le Moyne. Roger Riffer, my first chair, and Don Zewe hired me, much to my amazement, and I've been here ever since.
As a faculty member, I became involved with the national organization, the American Sociological Association http://www.asanet.org and it is accurate to say that none of my professional achievements with the professional organization and the discipline would be possible without the encouragement and support of Carla Howery. Thanks also to the many friends and colleagues who I have had the privilege and honor to work with the past few decades.
Page last revised: September 18, 2008