Scarboro will teach in Egypt

For Allen Scarboro, being a sociologist has always been about possessing an appreciation for multiculturalism. Beginning this month, he will have an opportunity to gain a better understanding of that philosophy as he leaves for a yearlong teaching commitment at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

"I've always believed that you can't have an accurate perspective on society until you can appreciate its diversity," Dr. Scarboro says. "What better way to understand the world's different societies than to immerse myself in them?"

Dr. Scarboro, the chair of the Department of Sociology, will leave Augusta this month and travel via Chicago and Zurich, Switzerland, to the African country, where he'll teach a variety of courses, including sociology, multiculturalism, and witchcraft. During the time he's not in a classroom, he hopes to absorb more of the country's rich history, particularly its past and present religious movements.

"I have a continuing interest in religion, religious fundamentalism in particular," Dr. Scarboro says. "Egypt has had powerful fundamentalist movement and there's 6,000 years of history there."

This won't be the first time Dr. Scarboro has lived and taught abroad. In 1978-79 he lived in Quito, Ecuador, where he taught at the Colegio Americano de Quito and Pontifical Universidad Catolica del Ecuador.

While Dr. Scarboro is away, Dr. Kimberly Davies, associate professor of sociology, will serve as acting chair of the Department of Sociology.

Davies becomes Acting Chair

Dr. Kimberly A. Davies, associate professor of sociology, joined the faculty at ASU in 1996. She received bachelors' degrees - one in sociology and another in women's studies - in 1988, a master's degree in 1990, and a doctoral degree in 1996, all from Ohio State University, Columbus.

Her research interests include homicide, female offenders, measurement of crime, violence toward women, and social deviance. Dr. Davies has received numerous awards for her research, including the 1998 Outstanding Paper Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice for her study, Economic Inequality Among Women and Female Perpetrated Homicide in 1990. She was also named ASU's Outstanding Faculty Member for 2000-2001.