Editorial Board:
Editor:
George H. Conklin,
 North Carolina
 Central University

Board:
Richard Dixon,
 UNC-Wilmington

Chien Ju Huang,
 North Carolina Central
 University

Ken Land,
 Duke University

Miles Simpson,
 North Carolina Central
 University

Ron Wimberley,
 N.C. State University

Robert Wortham,
 North Carolina
 Central University

      

Volume 1, Number 1 
Spring 2003 

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The North Carolina Sociological Association:
A National Model for Sociology?

by
Michael Wise
Appalachian State University
and
Catherine Harris
Wake Forest University

    As one of the largest of the state sociological associations, North Carolina has dealt with many cutting edge issues--often long before these have become important to our regional and national associations. Examples include teaching issues such as dealing with student hostility in the classroom, career guidance and planning for students emerging from their undergraduate studies and, within the arena of legislative committees and administrative rules, turf battles with our cognate disciplines over "replaceability" issues such as the need for certification and the exclusive wording of some state job descriptions. Based on these experiences, we have argued that the state associations are in a better position than the regional or national associations to detect and deal with emerging discipline related issues. Indeed, as the old adage says, "all politics are local."

    The idea of "local," however, conveys a sense of narrowness or parochialism. Indeed, "local" issues may be perceived as "their" problems not ours.  But, the fact that the problems and pressures impacting sociologists locally often affect the discipline globally suggests that the sociological "neighborhood" is larger than we might think. A difficulty for us as practitioners of sociology is recognizing that we belong to that large and dynamic neighborhood.

    To this end, the North Carolina Sociological Association is launching a new way to communicate among ourselves is launching a new way to communicate among ourselves as professional and with the public as members of the sociological neighborhood:  Sociation Today.  This is another first for us.  Sociation Today is the first the first peer-reviewed, Web-based journal sponsored by a state sociological association. Its goal is to enhance public outreach and to 'show the flag' to both the academic the non-academic community.  Sociation Today promises to publish solid academic research of interest to those concerned with the ways in which human behavior is influenced by the stresses and strains of our contemporary environment.

    Sociation Today as an instrument of the North Carolina Sociological Association continues a long tradition of innovation and service to our state and serves as another exemplar for other state sociological associations.  Several years ago, we examined state sociological associations, their activities, concerns and issues.  It seems appropriate here, as we launch our new endeavor to look at the problems and issues that representatives of the North Carolina Sociological Association perceive as important as compared to those of state associations in the south and of the nation as a whole.

    To investigate the needs and issues relevant to state associations we surveyed the officers and former officers of state sociological associations. A questionnaire was send to 139 present and past officers representing 26 state sociological associations in 32 states. The overall return rate for this sample was 41% for individuals and 84.6% for organizations. Of these, 33.3% of respondents were from the south and 21% of the southern respondents were from North Carolina.

    The first thing of interest is the characteristics of officers who responded to the survey. The officer corps for the North Carolina association is comparable to those of the south and the nation. Based on the sample, we have tended to be white, male, middle-aged, senior faculty from four-year and research institutions. This latter point is important. Among the comments we received was one that noted, "participation by the 'U's' is critical for the survival of the state association."  Those state associations that do not have the support of their four year and research universities often have difficulty sustaining interest and support among its membership. Like other successful state associations, we have also benefited form the perspectives and vitality brought forward by representatives and leaders from the community colleges. But, we, as are other state associations, less likely to have drawn our leadership from the secondary school representatives or the private sector.

    Our openness to all levels of the academic spectrum is reflected in our general membership. The NCSA has an estimated average 300 members. We are about twice the size of most other state associations. As with our leadership, we are predominantly white. Minorities are somewhat less likely to be members of the North Carolina association than in other state associations whether in or outside the South. About a third of our members identify themselves as minorities - a larger proportion than that for the nation (9.8%) or for the south as a whole (22.5%). We are 45% female compared to 43.3% for the nation and 43.9% for the south. We are 30% students, slightly higher that the national average (26%) but a bit lower than the south (34%). All in all, it appears that our membership is relatively diverse and inclusive.

    Tables 1 and 2 reflect assessments of issues of concern for state associations. Like the nation and the south, the issue of most concern for the North Carolina Association is attracting members (Table 1). We indeed rank this as our highest priority. While we also tend to identify the problems of recruiting officers and maintain finances as salient issues as do the national and southern associations. We see as additional priorities assessing the needs of the discipline and communication among members by "keeping the news letter going."

       With respect to concerns about teaching (Table 2), we are most likely to be concerned about the problems of sustaining enrollments, the related problems of encroachments of other disciplines and the techniques of teaching,

    How important is professional development?   The NCSA is somewhat less likely to provide opportunities to present research for students, faculty and other practitioners than the US or the south, but we tend to set a higher priority for recognizing and rewarding the research efforts of our students than either the nation or the south. In contrast to other associations we do not provide direct recognition of community service or teaching. Neither, at the time of the survey, did we provide opportunities for publication, nor did we set a high priority for workshops. As compared to other associations, we tend to set a high priority on communications among members. This is reflected in our concern for "keeping the newsletter going."  We were more likely to cite our newsletter, our regular meetings, our member directory and workshops as our means for sustaining communication among members. Unlike a number of other states, however, we do not use departmental representatives, social events or employment bulletins to facilitate contacts among our membership.

    One of the features of the North Carolina Sociological Association is its activist stance with respect to issues related to the discipline. Among theses issues, the North Carolina Association has been involved in decisions related to professional certification, curriculum standardization and academic freedom. To a greater degree than either the national average or the south, we have been politically involved and have been active in communicating the content of the discipline to the public. We have used brochures, our associations with the public education system and formally constituted education, outreach and legislative liaison committees to "show the flag" to then non-academic public.

    To summarize, the North Carolina Sociological Association, as compared to the nation and to the south emerges as an inclusive organization, attentive to many voices. We are alert to the changing needs of the discipline and believe in the value of sociology as an instrument of education and motivator of social change. We are particularly concerned for our next generation of sociologists and the welfare of our fellow members. (As one member said, theca membership directory is the most valuable item in her bag.)

    The North Carolina Association has tradition of being a leader among the state associations It has set an example by combining public outreach, networking and sensitivity to the identification of troublesome political issues for other state associations.  It fulfils the mission of the state sociological association in a unique way by clarifying the image of the discipline and developing models for the meaningful practice of sociology in the context of social responsibility. It represents an important part of the sociological tradition of activism at the local level and that of a critical strategic link between academic sociology and the needs of our consumers. And, it is in this tradition that we celebrate the launching of Sociation Today.

© 2003 North Carolina Sociological Association 

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