N O R E E N . C H A N N E L S

The following feature story appeared in the campus publication Mosaic in February, 1997.

Noreen Channels

Seeing the big picture

Two distinctly different photographs hanging in Noreen Channels' otherwise book-lined office mirror the different dimensions and interests of the professor of sociology. In one, a solitary woman sits on the front porch of her log home and stares squarely at the camera. In the other, dozens of women pose at a Massachusetts League of Women Voters convention in Holyoke in 1929. Both photographs intrigue Channels. But her gaze usually stops at the group photograph. Groups of people, like the one in the photograph, she contends, hold the key to identifying and remedying the social problems that affect individuals.

"I do like the big picture. Because social structure affects so many people, it's really the best way to explain how societies work and what's happening in the lives of a group of people. It's the most effective way to explain our environment and effect change," she said.

When Channels joined the faculty in 1972, the social turbulence of the period "made it wonderful to teach sociology," she recalled. Today's students are likewise interested in understanding social issues, she says. Her students' interest pleases her, because to Channels sociology means traveling beyond pure theory and applying the results of research to real-world problems. This is a belief she has not only preached but practiced.

Getting her mind around Hartford

"I've always, always been interested in how social science research is useful to non-scientists, to community people, and to decision makers," Channels noted. Over the past 25 years she has applied her research expertise to Hartford issues ranging from housing preferences to police counseling of rape victims, to how the city's workforce contributes to its economy. Hartford's unique personality has been conducive to her work. "I like Hartford very much. It's a size that you can understand. You can know the players and understand what's going on. To me, it has all the advantages of a large urban area, all the problems and the strengths, but you can get your mind around it," she observed.

Channels' students also have the opportunity to get their minds around Hartford. For example, this year two of her students are studying parole violation trends for the Connecticut Department of Parole to determine whether there are certain "vulnerable" periods when parole is violated more frequently than other times. "Students do very interesting and useful work," Channels said.

The methodology behind such useful work has held Channels' interest throughout her career. Author of Social Science Methods in the Legal Process, the Michigan native still teaches "Research Methods in Social Science," a course which she began teaching when she started at Trinity. Now the department chair, she describes this course as the foundation for social science inquiry and a class that challenges students' critical thinking skills. "Instead of being part of the process of a course, critical thinking is the substance. Knowing how to evaluate information and generate information that is reliable is essential," she remarked.

Trinity Center for Neighborhoods

Three years ago, Channels was named a research coordinator to the Trinity Center for Neighborhoods (TCN), a community-based, HUD-funded initiative which gives community organizations additional tools and resources with which to address urban issues. As a research coordinator, she matches requests for help from community groups with the expertise of Trinity faculty. Channels' latest TCN project involves surveying the health-care needs of 5,000 disabled people for the Connecticut Union of Disability Action Groups.

Her role as research coordinator is one she fits well, says one TCN staff member. "She listens to people in the community and works with them to resolve their questions and their issues. People get the feeling that this is not a laboratory experiment. She's involved in it," according to Alta Lash, technical assistant for United Connecticut Action for Neighborhoods, a TCN affiliate.

Getting to the heart of a problem

Channels' students concur with Lash. Margaret Modzelewski '97, a sociology major who is Channels' teaching assistant for her research methods class, says, "She's encouraging, organized, and really motivating. It's been a wonderful experience to work with her." Channels is advising sociology major Michelle Buckley '97 on her senior thesis, in which she is examining the disparity between the sentencing of crack users and the sentencing of cocaine users in New York state. "Professor Channels is very good at applying research to real problems. Because of that, she's given me a whole new idea of what sociology is," commented Buckley. "She's been great!"

Stephen M. Valocchi, associate professor of sociology, says of his colleague, "She has a real talent for getting to the heart of a problem, whether it be sociological or a departmental issue, or a problem or issue with a student. With Noreen, her commitment to research is simultaneously a commitment to the community and the people who live in the community."

And as much as Channels has expounded on the benefits of a broad social perspective, it has been Trinity's small size that has proved most rewarding in her teaching. "At the beginning of each semester, I like that I always already know a number of students in each class. I've either already had the students in class or talked to them in my office," she explained. "I really enjoy that aspect of teaching at Trinity."

-- Suzanne Zack

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