Korgen, Kathleen Odell 1967–

PERSONAL: Born October 11, 1967, in Olean, NY; daughter of Walter Tomkins (a political-science professor) and Patricia (a mathematics professor; maiden name, McIntyre) Odell; married Jeffry Korgen (a lay ecclesiastical minister), August 5, 1995; children: Julie Ellen, Jessica Elizabeth. Ethnicity: "Irish-English." Education: College of the Holy Cross, B.A., 1989; Boston College, Ph.D., 1997. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES: Home—319 Powell Ave., Newburgh, NY 12550. Office—William Patterson University, Department of Sociology, Wayne, NJ 07470. E-mail—korgenk@wpunj.edu.

CAREER: Writer. Drury College, Springfield, MO, assistant professor, 1998; William Patterson University, Wayne, NJ, assistant professor, 1998–2003, associate professor, 2003–. Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Portland, ME, 1989–90.

MEMBER: American Sociological Association, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Eastern Sociological Society.

WRITINGS:

From Black to Biracial: Transforming Racial Identity, Praeger (Westport, CT), 1998.

Crossing the Racial Divide: Close Friendships Between Black and White Americans, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals, including Teaching Sociology, American Sociologist, Social Insight, CyberPsychology and Behavior, College Student Journal, Innovative Higher Education, and Contemporary Sociology. Contributor to books, including Perspectives: Criminal Justice, edited by Alejandro del Carmen, CourseWise Publishing (Madison, WI), 1999; Perspectives: Race and Crime, edited by Robert L. Bing, III, and del Carmen, CourseWise Publishing, 1999; Racial and Ethnic Relations in America, edited by Carl L. Bankston, III, with others, Salem Press (Pasadena, CA), 2000; and The Quality of Contact: African Americans and Whites on College Campuses, edited by Robert Moore, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: How Sociology Can Save Democracy, a book with Howard Lune, to be published by Prentice-Hall.

SIDELIGHTS: Kathleen Odell Korgen told CA: "I've always been attracted to sociology because of its unique capability to help citizens become informed and effective members of their society. My work, ranging from issues of race to civic engagement, has always centered around issues of social justice. In order to change society and make it more just, we first have to understand how it operates. Sociology provides us with the tools to do just that. As a professor and a writer, I get to share this knowledge with many others. I am very fortunate!"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Journal of Sociology, May, 1999, Michelle D. Byng, review of From Black to Biracial: Transforming Racial Identity, p. 1867.

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, April, 1999, Kevin Mumford, review of From Black to Biracial, p. 357.