New Sociology Program Directors

Two faculty members have taken on new roles this fall in the Department of Sociology at the University of Central Florida.

Amy Donley, Ph.D., and Jason Ford, Ph.D., are working as program directors with high hopes for student opportunities.

Donley is now the undergraduate program director in the sociology department. Donley earned her doctoral degree in sociology from UCF in 2008 and began working with the department as an instructor in 2010. Prior to her appointment as undergraduate program director, she was serving as an assistant professor since 2013.

Donley has been actively involved with the program prior to her appointment. She has been teaching undergraduate research methods and data analysis to sociology students since 2008 and has served on the undergraduate committee since 2013.

Donley has several goals for the undergraduate program – including the expansion of the internship program and increasing student opportunities.

“Our students have a lot to offer agencies in the community,” Donley said. “So a main focus of mine will be expanding this program.”

The students Donley works with on a daily basis are what she loves most about her job.

“The students’ excitement and dedication to their field so early in their careers is inspiring,” she said. “Being able to be a part of the process with many undergraduate students in my own department is without a doubt the part of my job that I love the most.”

She explained the department is also working to develop and refine the courses offered for sociology major and minors, as well as grow its online BA in sociology program.

Graduate Program Director Jason Ford also maintains goals for the future of the graduate program – and the department as a whole. He hopes to provide more professional development opportunities for students.

In addition to expanding opportunities, he looks forward to restructuring the existing graduate programs to offer a four-year Ph.D. program, rather than having separate master’s and doctoral programs.

Ford is also no stranger to the UCF Department of Sociology. He began at UCF in 2002 and served as undergraduate program director for the Sociology and Social Sciences Program from 2010-2013.

Before joining the UCF family, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University in sociology and history, his master’s degree from Kent State University in criminal justice studies and his doctoral degree from Bowling Green State University in sociology.

Throughout the pursuit of his doctorate, Ford focused on crime and deviance as well as quantitative methodology. Today his research interests include alcohol and other drug use and crime and deviance over the life course.