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Rural Sociology Group Honors
Bowling Green, Ky. - A Western Kentucky University sociology faculty member has been honored by the Southern Rural Sociological Association.
Dr. Douglas Clayton Smith, an associate professor, received the group's Excellence in Teaching Award for 2005. In presenting the award Feb. 7, Association President-Elect Patricia Dyk said Smith had "successfully blended his love of science, technology and the environment into the delivery and content of the courses he teaches." Dyk also described Smith's dedication to undergraduate and graduate education not only through his teaching but through his work co-authoring (with colleagues James Grimm and Amy Krull) "Basics and Applications in Sociology," an introductory textbook and reader. She noted Smith's efforts to disseminate research-based knowledge and to engage students through his website as well as his engagement of undergraduate and graduate students in research and professional development activities. Smith, Grimm and four graduate students also presented the findings of their studies on the potential effects of health insurance on physical and emotional well-being in rural and urban settings. The first of the three presented papers, "Effects of Managed Health Insurance on Physical and Emotional Well-Being in South Central Kentucky," will be published in the forthcoming volume of "Research in the Sociology of Health Care." The Southern Rural Sociological Association is an educational and scientific organization established to foster the study and understanding of rural sociology and its application to the Southern region of the United States. It is a member organization of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists. The SRSA annual meetings were held Feb. 6-8 in Little Rock, Ark. More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
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