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04. Service

Awards

2019-2020 "Exceptional Service Award," College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Northern Arizona University.

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          Dr. Finch is always willing to do a little bit more for her colleagues and students. She is a fierce advocate for faculty on the Senate and has been leading the way with the NTT Council on the development of the teaching stream proposal. She is also an invaluable member of the Sociology Department. Jessie serves at that department's undergraduate coordinator and has taken on countless extra hours of service to improve the programs in Sociology, creating master syllabi, submitting new courses, and overall improving the curriculum to serve students in our college. We sometimes forget to say thank you for service work, but we couldn't let this opportunity pass without telling Jessie that we see her work, we value it, and we are thankful for it. 

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2018 “Stockton Faculty Community Engagement Award,” 14th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Program, Stockton University.

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          First, Dr. Finch models community engagement through her own service. The most prominent example is her work as the Faculty Coordinator and Co-Instructor of the Stockton Center for Community Engagement’s Naturalization Courses. This course is for permanent residents who wish to become citizens and it meets each week from September-May in Atlantic City. Over thirty community members have regularly attended the course since September of 2015 and nine attendees have successfully become naturalized citizens. Dr. Finch coordinates and teaches weekly lessons along with Undergraduate Student Co-Instructors. This is an admirable combination of service and teaching that demonstrates her commitment to community engagement. 

         She also teaches Social Research Methods as a Service-Learning course to highlight the importance of community engagement for students. She has students investigate social issues in the “real world” by having them run data analysis for the Office of Service-Learning. Having students practice public sociology through problem-based learning and community engagement not only makes for better citizens, but also makes for more active learning.

          Much of her research is also focused on populations dealing with inequality and she is devoted to these communities in the public impact of her work. For example, her work on the criminalization of immigration contributes to improving how the criminal justice system deals with sensitive racial/ethnic issues surrounding immigration crimes. Through developing this kind of scholarly work, Dr. Finch seeks to improve not only social scientists’ understanding of inequality but to better society at large through her community engaged scholarship

 

2013 “Outstanding Graduate/Professional Student Leadership,” Graduate and Professional Student Council, University of Arizona. 

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Northern Arizona University

University-Wide Service

  • Faculty Senate

    • Elected Representative, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2020-Present

      • Chair, Council for Non-Tenure Track Faculty Issues, 2020-Present

    • Council for Non-Tenure Track Faculty Issues, 2019-20, Voting Member

    • Council for Non-Tenure Track Faculty Issues, 2018-19, Ad Hoc Member

  • NAU Votes Coalition

    • Faculty Voter Registration Workshop Participant 

 

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences 

  • College Curriculum and Assessment Committee Representative, 2019-Present

    • Subcommittee on Resource Review, Co-Chair 

 

Sociology Department 

  • Department Chair: 2022-Present  Highlighted Achievements: 

    • Oversaw B.S. and M.A. Sociology Programs through Academic Program Review (Self-Study, External Review, Action Planning)

    • Hired a New Administrative Associate as well as 3 new Assistant Teaching Professors and a Lecturer

    • Assisted with 2 Faculty Transitions from Non-Tenure Track to Tenure Track

    • Developed and Implemented Departmental Election Policy & Search Deliberation Policy

    • Nominated 4 Faculty, 2 Graduate Students, and 2 Undergraduate Students for University-Level Awards/Grants That They Ultimately Received

  • Undergraduate Curriculum and Assessment Committee

    • Chair, 2019-2022 

    • Member, 2018-19

  • Visioning Committee

    • Member, 2018-Present

  • Social Media, Website, and BbLearn Committee

    • Chair, 2019-Present 

  • Non-Tenure Track Search Committee, Spring 2019

    • Sociology Department (3 hires) 

    • Joint Sociology and Communication (1 hire)

 

Community Engaged Service

  • Board Member, Northern Arizona Immigration Legal Services (NAILS), Flagstaff, AZ.

    • Starting in June of 2019, I have volunteered every Wednesday night from 6-9pm at Killip Elementary School where local residents who have concerns related to immigration issues can receive free legal assistance from an attorney and other volunteers. I have personally helped with 6 DACA renewals, 2 I-765 Work Permit applications, and assisted with 2 Cancellation of Removals. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the clinic moved to an online setting. Because of my assistance and regular volunteering, I was asked to become an official board member of NAILS, a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In this role, I have continued my regular weekly volunteering, but also added attendance at monthly board meetings, and have been asked to assist with developing a client database using the software Innovation Law Lab. I have also overseen two undergraduate and one graduate intern to assist with this project as well as to begin investigating grant support for the organization. 

  • 5-Day Student Trip to the U.S.-Mexico Border, NAU Honor Program, Flagstaff, AZ

    • In the Fall of 2019, I assisted in the development and chaperoning of a 5-day trip to the U.S.-Mexico Border along with 3 other faculty and 8 NAU Honors Undergraduate students. I was asked to participate based on my expertise in criminal immigration proceedings, specifically Operation Streamline, which the entire group observed in Tucson. We also visited the Eloy Detention Center, the Nogales Border Patrol Station, crossed the border into Nogales, Sonora where we visited Grupos Beta, a migration assistance center, and also served dinner to over 100 hopeful migrants at the Kino Border Initiative Kitchen. We also visited the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office, Casa Alitas (a migrant shelter in Tucson), took trips to Amado and Arivaca, AZ and visited shrines of migrants who had perished in the desert. It was an incredibly intense experience for both myself and the eight students, many of whom I keep in touch with still and who have since taken classes with me.

  • Book Club Facilitator for Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library, Flagstaff, AZ.

    • Jamie Paul, the Events and Marking Librarian for the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library requested that I participate in their year-long series “Plotting the Plateau Book Club.” I presented one book (Diné Perspectives: Revitalizing and Reclaiming Navajo Thought edited by Lloyd L. Lee) in the February 2019 and facilitated a second title (The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantu) in the November of 2019. The February event was attended by 14 people who had read the book in part or in whole and we have a 2-hour discussion about the content. Two of the students from my course American Society and the American Indian were also in attendance. November’s event was attended by 9 people and another 2-hour discussion ensued. In addition to my presentations, I also connected the library with my Sociology colleagues Dr. Stefanie Kunze and Dr. Melanie Hildebrandt to continue the NAU Sociology and Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library connection. Additionally, I helped write a letter of support for the Library as they successfully endeavored to obtain more funding for this series from the American Library Association. 

University of Arizona

University-Wide Service

  • Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC), University of Arizona

    • Member at Large, 2009-15

    • GPSC Travel Grant Evaluation Committee, 2011, 2013

  • Latino/a Graduate Student Association

    • Member at Large, 2009-14

    • Co-Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Symposium, 2011-12 

    • Communications Committee, Chair, 2010-11

 

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

  • Graduate Assistant in Charge of Coordination for Special Events, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona

    • 9/11: Before and After: Remembering the 10th Anniversary

    • SBS Immigration Week: Exploring Causes, Expanding Solutions

  • Graduate Facilitator for The League of Women Voters’ and School of Government and Public Policy’s "Running and Winning Workshop" (2009-13) 

 

School of Sociology

  • Faculty Hiring Committee, Elected Graduate Student Representative, 2012-13

  • Executive Committee, Elected Graduate Student Representative, 2011-12

  • Undergraduate Studies Committee, Elected Graduate Student Representative, 2009-10

  • Diversity Committee, Member at Large, 2009-15; Chair, 2010-13

  • Communications Committee, Chair, 2010-15 (Created & managed SocGrad ListServ)

  • Feminist Theory Group, Member at Large, 2009-15; Co-Chair, 2010-13

  • Arizona Culture Workshop, Co-Founder and Organizer, with Kyle Puetz and Corey Abramson, Member at Large, 2013-15; Co-Chair, 2013-14

  • Social Movements Workshop, Member at Large, 2011-13

  • Inequality Workshops, Member at Large, 2009-15

Stockton University

University-Wide Service

  • Provost’s Committee on Chairs Vs. Coordinators, Survey Consultant, 2018.

  • Campus Hearing Board Panelist, Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, 2018.

    • Specific Title IX Training Completed

  • Assistant to the Campus Parking Committee, Valet Parking Lot Survey, 2017

  • Provost’s Committee on Campus Safety, 2017

  • Affiliated Faculty in the Holistic Health Minor, 2016-19 

  • Affiliated Faculty in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Minor, 2016-19 

  • Affiliated Faculty in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Minor 

    • Women in Academia Conference Planning Committee, 2016-17

    • Assessment Committee, 2016-17

  • Exploratory Committee for the Minor in Immigration Studies

  • Member at Large, 2015-18

  • Exploratory Committee on the Master’s Program in Liberal Studies

  • Social Science Consultant, 2015-17

    • Exploratory Committee Liberal Studies BA: Community Leadership & Civic Engagement

  • Member at Large, 2016-17

    • Stockton University’s Annual Day of Service

      • 2015: Faculty Project/Reflection Facilitator

      • 2016: Member-At-Large Planning Committee

      • 2016: Project Co-Coordinator, Civic Engagement

      • 2017: Project Co-Coordinator, Civic Engagement

    • Stockton University’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 

      • 2016: Faculty Project/Reflection Facilitator: Tuckerton Seaport

      • 2017: Faculty Project/Reflection Facilitator: Petey Greene Foundation

      • 2018: Faculty Project/Reflection Facilitator: Kids Cooking Kits with the United Way of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey

    • Stockton University’s Service-Learning Partner & Community Reflections

      • Spring 2017, Galloway, NJ

      • Fall 2016, Galloway, NJ 

      • Spring 2015, Hammonton, NJ

    • Stockton University’s Service-Learning Democracy Café Series

      • 2016: Guest Professor: Text, Talk, Vote

    • Adjunct Faculty Sponsor 

      • Jacob Helmeczi, “GEN: Meaning, Purpose and Your Career”

    • Women’s March on Washington, Faculty Chaperone 

      • Assisted with coordination and oversaw the trip of over 50 Students to Washington D.C. on January 21, 2017

    • March for Science, Faculty Chaperone 

      • Assisted with coordination and oversaw the trip of 18 Students to Washington D.C. on April 22, 2017

 

School of Social and Behavioral Sciences 

  • Academic Program Website Upgrade Project Committee

  • Curious Careers in SOBL Series, Co-Founder and Co-Organizer (with Drs. Forestal & Yang, Stockton Career Services, and Alumni Affairs)

    • Fall 2016 Panel (3 Alumni Panelists, 45 Students)

    • Spring 2017 Panel (4 Alumni Panelists, 60 Students)

    • Fall 2017 Panel (4 Alumni Panelists, 55 Students)

    • Spring 2018 Panel (4 Alumni Panelists, 50 Students)

 

Sociology and Anthropology Program 

  • SOAN Assessment Committee, Member at Large, 2015-18 

  • SOAN Communications and Social Media Committee, Chair, 2015-18

  • SOAN Program Outreach & Professionalization Committee

    • Representative, 2015 Admissions Open House

    • Coordinator, Fall 2016 Meet & Greet (50 Students)

    • Coordinator, Fall 2016 SOAN Movie Night: Zootopia (80 Students)

    • Coordinator, Spring 2017 Meet & Greet (25 Students)

    • Coordinator, Fall 2017 Meet & Greet (30 Students)

    • Coordinator, Spring 2018 Meet & Greet (35 Students)

 

Community Engaged Service

  • Faculty Coordinator and Co-Instructor, Stockton Center for Community Engagement’s Naturalization Courses, Carnegie Center, Atlantic City, NJ

    • This course meets each week from September-May in Atlantic City. To date, over thirty community members have regularly attended the course since September of 2015 and sixteen attendees have successfully passed all requirements and become naturalized citizens. I coordinate and teach the weekly lessons with various Undergraduate Student Co-Instructors from the Stockton Center for Community Engagement.

  • University Team Lead, Stockton University Diplomacy Lab Collaboration with the U.S. Department of State. “Explain a Complicated Process – Passport Website Instructional Video in Spanish”

    • Through the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomacy Lab, I led a team of Stockton students, faculty, and staff to develop a new video to help Spanish-speakers to complete passport applications. Along with Dr. Merydawilda Colón, Executive Director for Stockton’s Center for Community Engagement, we wrote, directed, and produced a 7-minute film that walks viewers through a 10-step process to obtain a passport for the first time in Spanish.

  • Faculty Facilitator, Stockton Center for Community Engagement’s “The Power of the Hispanic Vote/El Poder de Voto Hispano,” June 11, 2016, Dante Hall, Atlantic City, NJ

    • Stockton Center for Community Engagement Fellow, SOAN Major, and my Advisee, Alejandra Londoño received funding from the Board of Trustees Fellowship to run a day-long community event attended by over 90 community members. Community groups and local politicians, such as the Mayor of Atlantic City, were also in attendance.  Increasing voter registration and turnout was emphasized along with the importance of com­munity engagement and solidarity among His­panics. I assisted with grant writing, coordination of the event, and overseeing registration at the event.

Service To The Profession

2020-          Reviewer for Law and Society

 

2019            Roundtable Organizer, SREM Mentorship Program, Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities (SREM) of the                             American Sociological Association, New York, NY.

 

2018-           Reviewer for Teaching Sociology

 

2018-           Reviewer for Sociological Inquiry

 

2018-19       Co-Chair, Committee on the Status of Gender Equality (Formerly the Committee on the Status of Women).                           Eastern Sociological Association.

 

2018            Roundtable Organizer, SREM Mentorship Program, Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities (SREM) of the                             American Sociological Association, Philadelphia, PA.

 

2017            External Consultant, 5-Year Program Review for Sociology, Atlantic Cape Community College,

                    Mays Landing, NJ. 

 

2017-           Reviewer for American Journal of Public Health

 

2016-           Reviewer for Sociological Perspectives

 

2016-19       Mentor and Mentee, SREM Mentorship Program, Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities (SREM) of the                                 American Sociological Association

 

2016-           Reviewer for Educational Studies

 

2016            Data Consultant to Judith A. Greene, Justice Strategies

Cited in: Greene, Judith A., Bethany Carson, Andrea Black. 2016. Indefensible: A Decade of Mass Incarceration of Migrants Prosecuted for Crossing the Border. New York, NY: Grassroots Leadership & Justice Strategies.

 

2015-17       Distinguished Undergraduate Paper Prize Committee, Sociology of Law Section of the

                   American Sociological Association

  • 2015-16: Member-At Large

  • 2016-18: Chair

 

2015-          Reviewer for Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

 

2015            Reviewer for W. W. Norton & Company

 

2014            Arizona Methods Workshop, Tucson, AZ. “Qualitative Data Analysis in ATLAS.ti” Facilitated by

                    Corey Abramson and the UA School of Sociology. 

 

2013-          Reviewer for Gender & Society

 

2013            Reviewer for Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group

 

2012-14       Graduate Reviewer for Hennink, Monique. 2014. Focus Group Discussions. New York: Oxford U Press.

 

2012            External Consultant for Presidential 360° Evaluation, CETYS Universidad (Centro de Enseñanza Técnica

                    y Superior), Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.

 

2012            Border Safety Workshop, Nogales, AZ. Facilitated by Celeste Gonzalez de Bustamante, PhD and

                    the UA School of Journalism Nogales News Bureau.

 

2010            Research Assistant to Raquel Rubio Goldsmith, PhD , University of Arizona

 

2006-07       Research Assistant to Susan E. Chase, PhD, University of Tulsa

                      Data Analysis for:

  • Chase, Susan E. 2010. Learning to Speak, Learning to Listen: How Diversity Works on Campus. Ithica, NY: Cornell University Press.

  • Chase, Susan E. 2011. “A Case Study of City University” Pp. 179-180 in An Invitation to Social Research: How It’s Done, 4th Edition. Emily Stier Adler and Roger Clark, eds. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Almost 10 Years of Faculty Experience

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