Karen Altendorf

Educational Background

Ph.D., Sociology, Oklahoma State University, 2003
M.S., Sociology Pittsburg State University, 1997
B.S. Sociology, Missouri Southern State University 1995

Research and Teaching Interests

Community Based Learning
Work in Corrections
Gender and Reality Television
Violence in the Media
Online Courses and Teaching

Courses Typically Offered

SOCI 100: Introduction to Sociology
SOCI 109: Sociology of Social Problems
SOCI 229: Law and Society
SOCI 203: Social Psychology
SOCI 234: Criminology
SOCI 251: Violence and Society
SOCI 254: Punishment, Rehabilitation and Society
SOCI 341: Seminar in Law and Society

Recent Awards

Certificate of Appreciation-Pennsylvania State Police Advanced Homicide Symposium
Lecture on the Sociology and Psychology of Child Homicide with J.T. Ptacek.  June 2023
Outstanding Volunteer Award United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg. May 2022
Maxwell Award for Exceptional Collaborative Efforts.  January 2022
Women's Faculty Council Award for Outstanding Scholarship for Research on Women's Issues, Oklahoma State University, May 2002

Selected Publications

• Corrections Officers. Criminal Justice in America: The Encyclopedia of Crime, Law Enforcement, Courts, and Corrections. 2020.
• Teaching Criminology with Service-learning and Community Engagement. The Criminologist. Volume 44-5-September/October 2019.
• A Warden or a Ballerina: Gender Socialization and Occupational Choice. The Qualitative Report. Volume 23:3, March 2018.
• "A Classic Case of Serial Murder: Forensics Meets Photonics". R. Alan Cheville and Karen A. Altendorf. The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science Case Collection