Raquel Simon
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – Winthrop University’s Department of Sociology, Criminology and Anthropology has been dealing with staffing issues, as the department has lost four full-time faculty members over the last three years, which has affected both students and professors.

For example, the department lost half of its full-time sociology professors and has had to manage the department with low staff.

“From the summer of 2019 to the fall of 2022, our department went from eight to four full-time faculty members,” said, the department chair, Dr. Bradley Tripp.

The faculty members who left the department primarily taught sociology and criminology classes, which make up the majority of the classes offered by the department.

Tripp, who has been with the department for 18 years, said he gives credit to the adjunct faculty for balancing the department as full-time professors left.

“We have had to utilize our adjuncts in a more strategic way and offer our classes in a more strategic way,” Tripp said.

This year, after an extensive search, the department has hired a new professor who is educated in both the fields of sociology and criminology.

Dr. Victoria Ahadzie, who is originally from Ghana, was hired in August. She said she is grateful for her new position.

“They need people in this department, but I would say that actually increased my chances of getting this position,” Ahadzie said.

She said she is enjoying her first year as a professor, where she is teaching three classes. She said she hopes that the department will add more classes in the future that students will want to take.

While the department has managed to offer core classes each semester, the lack of faculty has been challenging for students, due to fewer electives being offered.

“It kind of makes me frustrated, because I can’t really go about my classes in order. I have to switch around, because there’s just not a lot of teachers,” Mee’Chelle Tucker, a junior sociology major, said.

“We make sure that we offer the classes that students need. Our staffing changes have not affected any students as far as completing their degree or graduation,” Tripp said.

He said he hopes the department can continue to grow, as student enrollment increases.