Dr. Sharon Warner Methvin holds a PhD in cultural anthropology with specializations in family, inequality and social change, an interdisciplinary master’s degree in psychology, sociology and social work and a master’s degree in anthropology. Before relocating to Portland three years ago, Dr. Methvin held a tenured professorship in sociology for 12 years at Cameron University in Southwest Oklahoma. 

She began the step in her career with Clark College this year and currently teaches full time as an instructor in the Department of Sociology. Her courses include General Sociology, Social Problems and selected topics courses on Poverty and Collective Behavior/Social Movements.  In service to the campus and community, she serves as Clark’s co-advisor for the international honor society, Phi Theta Kappa and is the facilitator for the state-wide task force coalition working to create a neuter spay program for animals in Oregon.

During Dr. Methvin’s academic career, she has presented and published numerous papers at conferences including several on the effective teaching and learning techniques. She is actively engaged in ongoing field research, and is presently conducting a longitudinal study of the socio-demographics of feral cat caregivers and the heath and longevity of the feral cats for whom they care. The highlights of her research include a book on women in poverty that won the 1997 Human Rights Award for the state of Oklahoma and the excavation, restoration and design of an exhibit of the fossil remains of a Pleistocene mammoth skeleton that was discovered on university grounds (in the president’s back yard!) where Dr. Methvin taught in Oklahoma.  Each of these field projects provides rich examples in the classroom to bridge the gap between theory, concept and practice.

Dr. Methvin is actively engaged in social justice efforts in the Oregon/Washington community and frequently provides public and expert testimonies to government agencies on environmental and animal welfare issues.  For more information on Dr. Methvin’s courses, please visit her academic web page at: http://web.clark.edu/smethvin.