Giving to the Department

Your support of the Department of Sociology will allow us to meet the needs of our students, faculty, and society in the 21st century.  We are urging you to unite with us for this great adventure.  It will require vision, commitment, and new resources to continue the transformation of our great university into an even greater one.  We are so pleased to have you as a partner in our endeavor.

To build upon our accomplishments in the Department of Sociology, we must focus our efforts and solidify our priorities, including:

• Students and Faculty: attracting and retaining gifted people with exceptional potential.
• Opportunities: creating possibilities for all persons with talent and commitment.
• Research: assuring strong and continuous support for work that is cutting-edge, both here at home and abroad.
• Problem Solving: emphasizing a practical approach.
• Facilities: providing state-of-the-art places to conduct our important work.
• Global Perspective: promoting it in everything we do.
• Community: strengthening this unique aspect of MSU.

Join with us in building the future of the Department of Sociology to ensure our continued eminence in advancing knowledge, transforming lives.  Show your support by making your contribution with our safe and secure online gift processing system. MSU's online gift processing system is an easy, fast, safe and cost-effective way to give to the Department of Sociology.

Thank you for you contribution to The Campaign for MSU and the Department of Sociology.

The Sociology Fund (Code AN05) – gifts to the Sociology fund will provide discretionary monies for student scholarships and fellowships, student travel for study abroad and national conferences, faculty research initiatives, and other departmental projects that will allow us to continue to attract and retain the brightest students and faculty to the Department of Sociology. Click here to make an online gift to the Sociology Fund. (note: type "Sociology" in the search for a fund box.)

Undergraduate Professional Development Fund in Sociology (Code AN0502)- this endowment fund was started in 2008 to provide undergraduate majors with professional development opportunities that will allow them to further their skills and enhance their scholarship by attending professional meetings, participating in sociology study abroad programs, and supporting opportunities to work on research projects.  A sustainable endowed fund requires a base of $30,000 to be collected within five years.  Several emeritus and current faculty, have pledged a leadership gift to start the fundraising campaign. Click here to make an online gift to the Undergraduate Professional Development Fund.

The Useem Fund (Code AN053)– this endowment was established in memory of Drs. John and Ruth Useem, who both played an integral role in the education of thousands of undergraduate and graduate sociology students from the 1940’s through the 1980’s.  Their exemplary scholarship and commitment to learning about comparative and international sociology provided a strong foundation for the Department’s scholarly theme of “Global Transformations”.  To continue their international commitment, the Useem Endowment provides merit-based scholarship support to graduate students embarking on careers related to international social research and global transformation. Click here to make an online gift to the Useem Fund. (note: type "Useem" in the search for a fund box.)

The Jay Artis Endowment For Graduate Study in Sociology (Code AN050)– this endowment was established in memory of Dr. Jay Artis, a former faculty member of Sociology.  The work of Dr. Artis focused on the sociology of international development.  This endowment fund provides financial support to doctoral students whose dissertations are focusing on the sociology of international development issues. Click here to make an online gift to the Artis Endowment Fund. (note: type "Artis" in the search for a fund box.)

John L. McAdoo Dissertation Award
This award is a tribute honoring the scholarship and leadership of John Lewis McAdoo, who was a professor of Family and Child Ecology at Michigan State university and a founding member of the NCFR Ethnic Minorities Section.  The purpose of the award is to provide support for the completion of an approved graduate research with a focus on issues related to families of color.  Award Amount: $500-1000.00. Eligibility:  Must be a doctoral student with approved research regarding families of color.  How to apply:  Submit an up-to-date vita; statement of professional plans; one letter of recommendation (written by a person familiar with your academic progress); and specific topic area of research-committee approval date.  Criteria for selection is based on professional goals, student status, class level, and academic achievement.  Contact  Dr. Steve Gold at gold@msu.edu for further information.

Undergraduate Endowment Fund
The Sociology Department has launched a fund to provide undergraduate majors money for professional development opportunities that will allow them to further their skills and enhance their scholarship by attending professional meetings, participating in sociology study abroad programs, and supporting opportunities to work on research projects. This was the idea of a group of sociology emeriti faculty including Drs. Maxine Baca-Zinn, Harry Schwarzweller and Bo Anderson.

A sustainable endowed fund requires a base of $30,000 to be collected within five years. So far the emeriti and current faculty have contributed approximately, $2,500 towards the endowment. All contributions are tax deductible. If you would like to speak with someone directly about giving to this fund please contact Sarah Blom, Senior Director of Development at (517) 432-1802 or at blom@msu.edu.