Catherine Richards Solomon, Ph.D
Professor of Sociology, Department Chairperson
I am a critical family sociologist who is interested in how individuals create professional and personal lives. In particular, I study how certain occupations (such as long-haul truckers and professors) and the characteristics of those occupations, how gender and class, and how ideologies about family life shape individuals’ lived experiences at work and at home. Not only do I love studying people’s work and family lives, but I also love teaching about families, gender, and sociology in general. My goals as a teacher are to help students learn to think critically about the society in which they live, how their lives are shaped by social factors, and how to effectively communicate their ideas to others. Sociology gives us the tools to see the interconnectedness of and the patterns in all our seemingly random lives. This is why I love being a sociologist and, in particular, a sociology professor at QU.
For Prof. Solomon's current CV, please click here.
Contact Information:
Email: catherine.solomon@quinnipiac.edu
Phone: 203-582-5264
Office location: CAS-1 Rm. 314
For Prof. Solomon's current CV, please click here.
Contact Information:
Email: catherine.solomon@quinnipiac.edu
Phone: 203-582-5264
Office location: CAS-1 Rm. 314
A panel of experts, including Prof. Catherine Solomon (second from right) participated in this revolutionary event.
Revolutionize Aging Event held September 27th
Dr. Solomon organized an event to revolutionize our societal ideas about aging. She brought together QU students and faculty, AARP-CT, Borrow My Glasses, and the internally acclaimed longevity expert Dr. Bill Thomas to share new and creative ways to approach aging, caring for the elderly, and working with elders. For more information about what happened at “Revolutionize Aging: A Call to Action," click here!
Dr. Solomon organized an event to revolutionize our societal ideas about aging. She brought together QU students and faculty, AARP-CT, Borrow My Glasses, and the internally acclaimed longevity expert Dr. Bill Thomas to share new and creative ways to approach aging, caring for the elderly, and working with elders. For more information about what happened at “Revolutionize Aging: A Call to Action," click here!
Prof. Catherine Solomon Publishes New Book on Family-Friendly Policies
Prof. Cathy Solomon’s new co-edited book is out! It’s titled Family-Friendly Policies and Practices in Academe. In addition to being one of the editors, Prof. Solomon wrote a chapter on her research about faculty’s experiences with family-friendly policies. In the book, the editors and the authors discuss why faculty and administrators of academe should care about implementing family-friendly policies and practices, as well as how they can advocate for policy changes. In section one, the book’s focus is on empirical studies that demonstrate the need for innovative programs and policies for faculty at colleges and universities. These pieces explore issues such as the value of work/life programs for employee retention, the need for a variety of family support policies including elder care, and the influence of workplace culture on the use of existing policies. Section two includes case studies of the process of formulating family-friendly policies and their adoption at a variety of universities. The subjects of these chapters include use of the Family and Medical Leave Act, the enactment of a parental leave policy, the development of a unique “life cycle professorship program,” and strategies used to implement new policies. The case study chapters provide descriptions of the identification of faculty and staff needs and the process of policy development as well as advice to faculty and administrators who seek to develop similar policies at their institutions.
Prof. Cathy Solomon’s new co-edited book is out! It’s titled Family-Friendly Policies and Practices in Academe. In addition to being one of the editors, Prof. Solomon wrote a chapter on her research about faculty’s experiences with family-friendly policies. In the book, the editors and the authors discuss why faculty and administrators of academe should care about implementing family-friendly policies and practices, as well as how they can advocate for policy changes. In section one, the book’s focus is on empirical studies that demonstrate the need for innovative programs and policies for faculty at colleges and universities. These pieces explore issues such as the value of work/life programs for employee retention, the need for a variety of family support policies including elder care, and the influence of workplace culture on the use of existing policies. Section two includes case studies of the process of formulating family-friendly policies and their adoption at a variety of universities. The subjects of these chapters include use of the Family and Medical Leave Act, the enactment of a parental leave policy, the development of a unique “life cycle professorship program,” and strategies used to implement new policies. The case study chapters provide descriptions of the identification of faculty and staff needs and the process of policy development as well as advice to faculty and administrators who seek to develop similar policies at their institutions.
Prof. Catherine Solomon Presented Research at Syracuse University
Dr. Cathy Solomon, Department Chair, presented her research about stay-at home fathers at Syracuse University, where she earned her PhD in Sociology in 2004, on Friday March 20th. Prof. Solomon's PhD advisor, Dr. Marjorie DeVault, a renowned feminist qualitative scholar, is retiring after 28 as a professor at Syracuse. Prof. Solomon's talked was entitled "'After months of it, you just want to punch someone in the face': Stay-at-home fathers and challenges to masculinity." Her interview-based research with stay-at-home fathers shows that societal ideas about fatherhood and masculinity are changing as emphasizing more familial involvement on the part of men. She has published her work in the journal Fathering and The Michigan Family Review.
Dr. Cathy Solomon, Department Chair, presented her research about stay-at home fathers at Syracuse University, where she earned her PhD in Sociology in 2004, on Friday March 20th. Prof. Solomon's PhD advisor, Dr. Marjorie DeVault, a renowned feminist qualitative scholar, is retiring after 28 as a professor at Syracuse. Prof. Solomon's talked was entitled "'After months of it, you just want to punch someone in the face': Stay-at-home fathers and challenges to masculinity." Her interview-based research with stay-at-home fathers shows that societal ideas about fatherhood and masculinity are changing as emphasizing more familial involvement on the part of men. She has published her work in the journal Fathering and The Michigan Family Review.