RONALD GULOTTA, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology
UW-Waukesha
E-Mail: rgulotta@uwc.edu

My professional specialties are in areas of criminology, the family, and research methods. These specialities include Juvenile Delinquency; Theoretical Criminology; Law, Society, and the Criminal Justice System; Juvenile Social Problems; Family and Social Welfare Policy; and Research Methods.

My educational background has great variety. I completed by bachelor degree at Marquette University with a major in theology. I then obtained a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I chose to seek my doctorate in sociology and to pursue my final degree again at a Jesuit University. I obtained my Ph.D. in Sociology from Loyola University of Chicago in 1994. My work experience, although varied in focus, has always been in the education field. I began work as a high school teacher and pursued my Ph.D. so as to move to teaching at the college level. Prior to returning to Wisconsin and taking my position within the UW College system, I was an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Work for five years at Murray State University in Murray, KY.

Teaching is my first love and my great passion. Sociology affords me a chance to impact students' lives through skills and insights applicable to their private and professional lives, and by encouraging them to think both critically and philosophically. Sociology also allows me to work and relate with faculty from many other disciplines in the UW Colleges. I look forward to opportunities to build IS courses and web courses with my collegues.

In addition to teaching, I have participated in a variety of research endeavors. I have conducted research and presented papers on the Impact of Adult Day Care in a Rural Community; the Impact of Marijuana Cultivation on Economic and Social Relations in a Rural Community; the Reactions of Criminal Justice Systems to local Marijuana Cultivation; and the Factors Contributing to readmission to a State Mental Hospital. I have also worked with theorist John Braithwaite, exploring options for testing his Reintegrative Shaming theory. My main focus of research remains studying the factors contributing to juveniles' abilities to desist from delinquent behavior. I currently have an article under review for publication on preliminary findings regarding supports for desistance.