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Sociology courses debuted in Roanoke College's curriculum in 1941--the year of Roanoke's centennial celebration. In its initial years, the only Sociology courses offered were Introduction and Social Problems, and the program was administered by the Department of Economics and Business Administration. By the 1950s, the number of sociology offerings expanded to include such courses as Modern Family, Minority Peoples, and Community Organization, and the department was retitled to the Department of Economics, Business Administration, and Sociology. Independence, full departmental status, and a Sociology major arrived in 1958. Ten years later, Dr. C. Randolph Benson was recruited to the college to establish a strong, professionally-oriented discipline with solid course offerings in theory and research methods. In 1979 Roanoke College was granted a charter of Alpha Kappa Delta--the national Sociology honor society--an important recognition of the quality of the program.
The current emphases within the department developed through the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990's. Concentrations in health care delivery, information analysis, and social work have been added as options within the major; the community internship program has flourished; and opportunities for students to engage in independent studies and collaborative research with faculty and to participate in professional meetings have expanded dramatically. The department was the original home of Roanoke's Center for Community Research and has a re-established connection with the CCR. The department is proud of its commitment to quality teaching, accessibility to students, and opportunities for students to gain experience in sociological research and community involvement.
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The Sociology Department is housed in Miller Hall, where most Sociology classes are held and the classrooms on the first floor are handicapped-accessible. One of the classrooms contains a computer©based overhead projection system for demonstrations.
Sociology Department faculty offices are located throughout the third
floor of Miller Hall. In addition, a student lounge with a departmental
library containing texts and journals and a state-of-the-art computer lab
are on the third floor. The lab contains seven workstations with netscape,
library access, and current software (including Microsoft Word & SPSS),
as well laser quality printing capabilities.
Department History