Dr. Kellie Alexander successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled “How Do You Do the Right Thing and Not Get Fired or Ruin Your Career?”: The Role of University Administrators in Hazing Prevention and Education. Kellie currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Denver.

Kellie’s dissertation is one of the only sociological studies to examine hazing through an administrative lens, offering both theoretical depth and practical implications for higher education policy. Drawing on rich mixed-methods data, she highlights the institutional barriers and systemic dynamics that shape hazing prevention efforts—insights that have the potential to shift conversations and interventions in this critical area.

“I want to extend my sincere thanks to her committee members—Dr. Jeff Nowacki, Dr. Prabha Unnithan, and Dr. Jody Donovan (Associate Vice President for Student Affairs)—for their guidance and commitment throughout this process,” says Dr. Tara Opsal, Committee Chair. “Kellie’s journey from M.A. student to Assistant Professor has been remarkable, and I feel lucky to have had a front-row seat to her growth and accomplishments.” 

Dr. Sneha Kadyan successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled Enhancing Workplace Standards in Cotton Garment Manufacturing: Analyzing Fairtrade and Global Organic Textile Standards in India. Sneha’s dissertation research focused on FairTrade and Global Organic Textile Standards in India’s garment industry. Her focus on the important and contradictory role middle managers play in the success of international and national voluntary standards sheds important light on the complex challenges voluntary certification faces in pursuing social and environmental goals in a fiercely competitive economic sector.

“Congratulations and best wishes, Sneha!” says Dr. Laura Raynolds, Committee Chair. “I want to thank my fellow members of Sneha’s committee for their close reading of her work, thoughtful and insightful questions and discussion, and consistent support of Sneha’s research,” Sneha’s doctoral committee includes Dr. Pete Taylor, Dr. Jessie Luna, and Dr. Jeff Snodgrass (Anthropology).

Dr. Noel Strapko successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled The Stories of U.S. Noel’s insightful and thought-provoking work explores the contours of nationalisms expressed by white college educated women who voted in the 2016 election. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, she finds that while interviewees all gave significance to the American Dream in defining a great America, they differed in patterned ways in their conceptions of who is a ‘true’ American, their views about the achievability of the American Dream for ‘true’ Americans, and the experiences and reasoning they drew upon in supporting these views. These patterns, in turn, corresponded to their perceptions of the status of America’s greatness and feelings of national pride, shame, ambivalence, and resentment.

“Noel’s work provides a much-needed contribution to the study of nationalism in its focus on the lived experience of women and by showing how civic, cultural, ethnocultural, and political nationalism are not competing forms of nationalism but are creatively drawn upon and intwined in people’s construction of nation and nationhood,” says Dr. Lynn Hempel, Committee Chair. “Noel benefitted from the kind support and guidance of her committee members: Dr. Tara Opsal, Dr. Mike Lacy, and Dr. David McIvor (Political Science).”