Sanford School faculty celebrate summer of successes
From competitive appointments to scholarships abroad, Sanford School faculty enjoy a summer overflowing with accomplishments
The Arizona sun hasn’t been the only thing bringing the heat this summer. Over the last couple of months, faculty in the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics have received a host of awards and recognitions for their meaningful work.
This summer's highlights include competitive appointments to research associations, career awards, travel abroad scholarships, research awards, grants and more—each with the goal of driving positive change through novel research and strong community engagement.
To recognize the outstanding work of these faculty members, each honor is highlighted below.
Rebecca Sandefur’s appointment to the Sociological Research Association
Rebecca Sandefur, professor and director of the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, was elected to the Sociological Research Association, a prestigious honor society of sociological scholars founded in 1936.
The association comprises nearly 500 members and convenes annually to network and advance their work. Membership is highly competitive.
Sandefur has made significant contributions to sociology throughout her career. She is a 2018 MacArthur Fellow, serves as a Faculty Fellow at the American Bar Foundation, and leads the Access to Justice Research Initiative. She also holds appointments by the Supreme Courts of Utah and Arizona to their respective legal services commissions and is the co-founder of Frontline Justice.
Nilda Flores-González’ Distinguished Career Award and Fulbright scholarship
Nilda Flores-González, John O. Whiteman Dean's Distinguished Professor in the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, received the Distinguished Career Award from the American Sociological Association’s Latinx Sociology section.
This award honors outstanding contributions to sociological practice, including work that has served as a model influencing the work of others or significantly impacted the field and general human welfare.
In addition to this accomplishment, Flores-González was one of nine ASU faculty to earn a Fulbright scholarship to study abroad. She will spend three months in Spain collaborating with colleagues at the University of Murcia to expand her research into immigration and national identity.
While in Spain, she will investigate national belonging among local youth with the Murcia Youth Identity Project. Through three months of interviews from January to March of 2025, her research will explore how factors like race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and gender shape the social and political identities of young Latin Americans. By comparing her research in Spain with her work in the United States, Flores-González aims to uncover the unique challenges and experiences faced in different cultural contexts.
Anthony Peguero’s appointment to the American Society of Criminology and Foundation Professorship
Anthony Peguero, a Foundation Professor in the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics and the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University, was elected vice president of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) for the 2025-2026 term. He was also recently named a Foundation Professor at ASU, a distinction conferred by ASU leadership to honor outstanding faculty.
Peguero, an executive counselor for the ASC, has served as co-chair and executive counselor for the Division on People of Color and Crime, winning its Coramae Richey Mann Award in 2013. He has also contributed over 80 published articles on youth inequality and justice, socialization and marginalization, schools, and the adaptation of child immigrants.As vice president of the ASC, Peguero aims to serve the organization’s diverse membership with concern for fairness and inclusivity, as well as support for early-career scholars.
Casandra Salgado’s Latina/o Sociology Section Distinguished Contribution to Research Article Award
Assistant Professor Casandra Salgado earned the Latina/o Sociology Section Distinguished Contribution to Research Article Award for her article “Latinxs and Racial Frames: The Evolution of Settler Colonial Ideologies in New Mexico,” published in Social Problems.
Salgado’s paper examines Nuevomexicanos, a longstanding Mexican American community in New Mexico, to understand how their history of colonization by both Spain and America affects their views on discrimination and race.
Her award-winning paper explains how Nuevomexicanos experienced discrimination but often downplayed it due to beliefs that living in a Hispanic-majority state protected them from racism. Salgado’s study compares this tendency to minimize racial issues to Spanish colonization, exploring how the region’s unique history shapes Latinxs’ views on race.
Karina Santellano’s ERI Community Engaged Research Grant
Karina Santellano, an assistant professor of sociology, has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the USC Equity Research Center. This grant supports her ongoing research for a book project that explores Latinx millennial entrepreneurship, with a focus on Latinx-owned coffee shops in Southern California.
The funding will enable Santellano to conduct historical research in collaboration with a community organization in Los Angeles. This work aims to enrich the historical context of her book, specifically regarding the neighborhood where her coffee shop case study is located. Her research contributes significantly to understanding the intersection of race, ethnicity, and entrepreneurship in urban settings. She will present her research progress in a seminar hosted by ERI in Spring 2025 and provide a summary for the ERI Blog.
Sarah Lindstrom Johnson’s Society of Research on Adolescence Social Policy Publication Award
Associate Professor Sarah Lindstrom Johnson contributed to work that earned the Social Policy Publication Award from the Society for Research on Adolescence. She, along with co-authors Jessika Bottiani, Daniel Camacho, and Catherine Bradshaw, earned the award for their article titled “Annual Research Review: Youth Firearm Violence Disparities in the United States and Implications for Prevention,” published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2021.
Their work discusses disparities in youth firearm violence in the United States, including structural inequalities and sociocultural factors that drive increases in violence. They offer insights into the prevention of youth firearm violence – with significant implications for both academic research and social policy development.