Molly Dingel, Ph.D.

Education

B.A. Grinnell College, Sociology and Mathematics

M.A. University of Kansas, Sociology

Ph.D. University of Kansas, Sociology

Teaching at UMR
I believe the classroom is a community consisting of students, teachers, and course material. My job as a teacher is to foster that community, which serves as the basis upon which students learn to think critically and apply sociological concepts to the world around them. I use active, collaborative, and integrative activities as primary strategies for facilitating students’ connection to me, to the material, and to each other.

Research
In my primary research, I seek to understand how students experience becoming part of and maintaining a community in and around the classroom: what are the experiences diverse students have in college? What is their sense of belonging to the institution, and what barriers do they face? I explore how race, class, religion, gender, and sexual orientation influence students’ understanding of diversity and belonging, with a focus on using this information to improve student integration into the social fabric of our institution, and by extension improve student success. In my secondary research I have explored sociological and bioethical questions of genetic research on addiction. This research explores the ways questions are asked, and the ways research results are interpreted and communicated by scientists, communicated by the media, and interpreted by the public.

View Select Publications and Abstracts