Biography
Dr. Liz Grauerholz is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She earned her undergraduate degrees in Sociology and English at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, and Masters and Doctorate degrees from Indiana University in Bloomington. Dr. Grauerholz served on the faculty at Purdue University from 1985-2005 and UCF from 2005-2023.
Dr. Grauerholz’s research interests include Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), animals & society, gender inequality, and media representations. Her research has been published in some of the discipline’s top journals, including American Sociological Review, Gender & Society, The Sociological Quarterly, and Teaching Sociology. She served as Editor of Teaching Sociology from 2004-2009, as Area Editor for ASA’s TRAILS, and chaired two ASA Sections (Teaching and Learning and Animals and Society). Teaching has always been her driving passion, and during her tenure at UCF, she developed numerous courses such as Sociology of Happiness and Animals and Health. Dr. Grauerholz’s teaching, mentoring, and SoTL work has been recognized nationally and institutionally.