Dr. Ryan King, professor of sociology and Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Research Center (CJRC), has been named chair of the Department of Sociology, effective June 1, 2019  for a term through June 30, 2023.

Dr. King arrived at The Ohio State University as an associate professor of sociology and an affiliate at the CJRC in 2013. He previously served in the Department of Sociology and the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at the University of Albany, SUNY. He received his MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Minnesota.

King’s areas of expertise include sociology of law, criminology and intergroup conflict. His published works focus on hate crime law and behavior, incivility, criminal deportation, punitive attitudes, crime and violence against minority groups, and the relationship between crime, punishment and family life.His interests are in criminology, law and society, criminal punishment, and intergroup conflict, with secondary lines of work focusing on the life course and anti-Semitism. Dr. King has written on the topics of hate crime law and behavior, incivility, criminal deportation, punitive attitudes, crime and violence against minority groups, and the relationship between crime, punishment and various facets of family life (e.g., marriage, divorce, and parent-child relations). Current research projects investigate the causes of hate crime, the effects of parental incarceration on child wellbeing, the criminal sentencing and deportation of non-citizens, the relationship between hate crime and terrorism, and the association between skin hue and criminal sentencing.

"It’s an honor to serve as the next chair of the Department of Sociology," King said. "I was thrilled to join this department six years ago, and I still love coming to the office each day. The faculty, staff and students are phenomenal, and I look forward to working closely with them in the coming years."