Who is Russ Long?

[Revised:  April 11, 2009]

Hi folks!

I have a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico where I studied Comparative Sociology with a focus on Political Sociology and Stratification.  Obviously I like to compare things and my favorite subjects tend to fall in the realm of what Charles Tilly (1984) calls "big structures, large processes, and huge comparisons."  In my dissertation, I explored economic trends in four western industrial countries in terms of how they were affected by the global economy.  My Master's Thesis, which I earned at UTEP, studied poverty and inequality in El Paso, Texas with that found in Texas and the United States.    More recently I've coauthored a paper with a former student which compares teenage pregnancy rates in Nueces County, Texas with those in Texas and the United States.

I consider myself primarily a teacher.  I have experience teaching courses such as Population, Sociology of Poverty, Urban Sociology, Deviance, Rich and Poor Nations, Research Methods and Statistics.

Click here for my academic CV

I've been at Del Mar College for a decade.  I teach three classes (Introductory Sociology, Social Problems, and Minority Studies) in both a face-to-face format and as distance learning classes.  Recently I was faculty advisor for the Social Justice Club at Del Mar (although that activity is morphing into applied community service activities within the sociology program itself).  I serve on two standing committees at DMC, the Scholarship and Financial Aid Committee and the Distance Learning Committee (where I am currently chairperson).  I have also served on a variety of program reviews and on several faculty search committees.  Recently I was a representative on the Faculty Council.

For extracurricular fun, I enjoy a good road trip and I love photography.  I especially like national parks and other wilderness type areas.  I'm a part owner of a cattle farm in East Tennessee.  I'm an animal lover, tree-hugger.  I have three cats and a hedgehog.  I love all sorts of computer related activities from building web pages to social networks like MySpace and FaceBook.