Introduction: Sondra Barringer

Hello everyone, welcome to our venture into the blogging world. My name is Sondra Barringer and I am currently a fourth year student in the Sociology Department at the University of Arizona, working on my doctoral dissertation. My fellow bloggers and I had the pleasure of meeting at the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service Summer Fellowship Program at the University of Texas at Austin this past summer. Like Erica I am also a bit of a black sheep since my background is in sociology and organizations. My interest in nonprofits developed out of my interest in sector differences in organizations, specifically in higher education which is the subject of my dissertation.

My academic background, like many nonprofit researchers, is also a little eclectic. My undergraduate degree is in Economics and Sociology from Baylor University and my graduate work here at the University of Arizona has focused primarily on organizations, methods, higher education, networks, and statistics.

My dissertation work is situated at the intersection of higher education, organizational strategies, governance, nonprofits, and methodology. Broadly speaking it examines the different organizational strategies that are pursued by institutions of higher education, the factors that dictate which strategies are pursued and the impacts of those strategies on the various constituencies of higher education.