Atkinson Wins Teaching Award

Dr. Maxine Atkinson, head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, has won the American Sociology Association’s 2011 Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award. She will be honored at the association’s annual meeting in August.

Atkinson won a 2009 Award for Excellence in Teaching from the UNC Board of Governors.

A member of the NC State faculty since 1980, Atkinson has done extensive research on the scholarship of teaching and learning. She is serving as co-chair of the Undergraduate Student Success task force for the university’s strategic planning process.

She has advised 600 undergraduates and served on more than 50 thesis and dissertation panels.

Her research also examines the sociology of the family and gender, with a focus on the economic relationship between spouses, and aging—particularly the relationship between adult children and their parents.

Atkinson earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, a master’s in sociology from Georgia State University and a doctorate in sociology from Washington State University.