Sociology Faculty

Krista E. Paulsen, Associate Professor of Sociology, Chair

Office: Building 51, Room 2237
Phone: (904) 620-1650 

kpaulsen@unf.edu 

 
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
Community and Urban Sociology, Culture, Organizations, Environment, Gender, Qualitative Methods  

Paulsen received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2000. Her research examines how places, whether regions, cities or neighborhoods, develop and maintain distinct cultures and practices. She has taken up these questions through investigations of local responses to offshore oil development, the perpetuation of rural cultural institutions in urbanizing areas, and the creation of new suburban neighborhoods; and is most recently the author of Introduction to Cities: How Place and Space Shape Human Experience (Wiley-Blackwell 2012; with Xiangming Chen and Anthony Orum). She regularly teaches courses in urban sociology, environment and society, introductory sociology and qualitative research methods.
  

David Jaffee, Professor of Sociology

Office: Building 51, Room 2219

Phone: (904) 620-2215

djaffee@unf.edu

Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst
International Development, Organizations, Distance Learning

Research interests have included economic sociology, political economy, organization theory, and the sociology of higher education. Jaffee recently launched “The Ports Project” which is a community-based research project aimed at studying the various aspects and implications of a port economy, generally, and the expansion of the Jaxport enterprise, specifically. Jaffee teaches courses in social change/international development, work and organizations, and social and economic crisis. 

Website 

Aleksandra Sasha Milicevic, Assistant Professor of Sociology

Office: Building 51, Room 2227
Phone: (904) 620-3857   

a.milicevic@unf.edu

Ph.D., UCLA
Political Sociology, Nationalism, Gender, Theory, and Qualitative Methods 

Originally from Serbia, Prof. Milicevic received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Belgrade. She also studied at the Central European University in Prague. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from UCLA in 2004. In 2004-2005, Sasha was a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellow in Peace Studies at Colgate University. Her primary areas are political sociology, nationalism, gender, theory, and qualitative methods.
 

Office: Building 51, Room 2233
Phone: (904) 620-1651  
rphillip@unf.edu

Ph.D., Rutgers University
Sociological Theory, Sociology of Religion, Deviant Behavior 

Phillips' primary research interests center on theoretical issues in the sociology of religion. Specifically, he is interested in the ways that cultural and religious pluralism affect the construction and maintenance of social solidarity within religious congregations. He has a forthcoming book that investigates this topic based on ethnographic data collected from two different religious communities and has also published several articles that extend and critique popular rational choice theories of religious participation. Phillips' first book examined the nexus between religion and deviance. Almost all of the empirical data he uses are based on trends and developments within Mormonism, but recently his focus has shifted to evangelical Protestantism in the antebellum U.S.
   

Office: Building 51, Room 2231
Phone: (904) 620-3838

j.stuber@unf.edu

Ph.D., Indiana University
Social Stratification, Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Education, and Qualitative Methods  

Stuber received her Ph.D. in Sociology at Indiana University. She holds a MA in Sociology from Brown University and a BA from Northwestern University. Her primary areas of interests are social stratification, sociology of culture, sociology of education, and qualitative methods. Her work intersects issues of class, culture, and education. Her dissertation is titled “Within the Walls and Among the Students: Symbolic Boundaries and the Construction of Difference within Higher Education.”
   

Office: Building 51, Room 2225
Phone: (904) 620-3853
j.wilder@unf.edu

Ph.D., University of Florida
Racial and Ethnic Relations, Colorism, Sociology of Black Americans, Women of Color in the United States, Theories of Race and Racism, Traditions of Black Sociological Theory, Women of Color in Higher Education, Qualitative Methodology 

Wilder received her Ph.D. in Sociology, with a concentration on Women’s Studies and Gender Research from the University of Florida. Wilder completed her MA in Sociology from Cleveland State University, and her BA from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. Wilder's primary areas of interest are Racial & Ethnic Relations, Colorism, Sociology of Black Americans, Women of Color in the United States, Theories of Race and Racism, Traditions of Black Sociological Theory, Women of Color in Higher Education, and Qualitative Methodology.

Wilder's current research agenda is actively devoted to examining issues of inequality affecting black women. Her dissertation examines the issue of colorism— bias and favor for light-skin, European features and "good hair" - among college-aged black women in a project entitled, "Everyday Colorism in the Lives of Young Black Women: Revisiting the Continuing Significance of an Old Phenomenon in a New Generation." Through focus group interviews with 58 women between the ages of 18 and 25, Wilder's study employs grounded theory and discourse analysis to investigate how young black women talk about and understand colorism in their everyday lives. An intersectional analysis of race, class, gender, and skin tone, this projects aims to explore the lived experiences of internalized racism that continues to impact the black community in the post-Civil Rights era.
   

Office: Building 1, Room 1907
Phone: (904) 620-4408 
jwill@unf.edu 

 
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Distributive Justice, Research Methods, Poverty and Public Policy 

Will is a Professor of Sociology and the Director of the Northeast Florida Center for Community Initiatives. He joined the UNF faculty in 1993. In 1994 Will, along with Drs. Charles E. 
Owens and Henry Camp, established the Northeast Florida Center for Community Initiatives to provide research and evaluation support for agencies and communities throughout the region and the nation. Since that time, research faculty working within CCI have been responsible for over $3 million in research contracts and grants, and another $3 million in training programs. These projects have been carried out primarily with local and state non-profit organizations and state and local government agencies. Will's primary areas of research concern poverty, inequality, and public policy. In addition to his work at UNF, Will was on the Board of Directors for the Clara White Mission. He also has previously served on the Advisory Board for the Health Care for the Homeless Clinics in Jacksonville, and worked as a consultant and coordinator for the annual Homeless Census and Survey in Jacksonville from 1994 - 2000, and 2006 to present. Will was also a member of the Leadership Jacksonville Y2K Class.