Professor Reggie Byron strives to challenge students to become critically engaged scholars who have an appreciation for quantitative and qualitative methods, sociological theory, and the sociological imagination.

He has also shared research experiences with a number of Southwestern students outside of the classroom, including, for example: Melissa Garcia (’12) and Griffin Ferry (’12) (see “Food for Thought” article), William Molidor (’12) and Andrew Cantu (’13) (see “U.S. Newspapers’ Portrayals” article) and Bree Billingsley (’14), and Nathan Tuttle (’14) (see “Performativity Double Standards” article).

Byron is currently working with three current students and three recent graduates on completing two grant funded summer research projects. The fruits of their labor have been well received at professional conferences and are at various stages of the peer-review process. These activities reflect his belief that teaching and learning are ongoing and should extend beyond the walls of the classroom.

Byron received his PhD in Sociology from the Ohio State University in 2009, his MA in Sociology from the Ohio State University 2005, his MA in Psychology from State University of New York at Buffalo in 2003, and his BA in Psychology from State University of New York at Geneseo in 2000.

He is a member of the American Sociological Association and Southern Sociological Society, and currently sits on the Editorial Board for Contexts (2017-2019), the Editorial Board for Social Currents (2015-2019), and the Editorial Board for Work and Occupations (2015-2018). Previously, he was part of the American Sociological Association’s Honors Program Advisory Panel (2014-2017), 

Byron’s primary research centers on race, gender, and sexual orientation stratification. Specifically, he uses a mixed methods approach to explain the patterns and processes of contemporary discrimination. He is interested in how these processes manifest in occupational, educational, and criminological contexts.

Recent Peer Reviewed Publications (since 2010)

** denotes Southwestern undergraduate student co-author

Books

Byron, Reginald A. and Vincent J. Roscigno. Race & Gender Discrimination and the Stalled Revolution (Under Contract with ASA Rose Series; Russell Sage)

Articles

Forth. Byron, Reginald A. and Vincent Roscigno. “Bureaucracy, Discrimination, and the Racialized Character of Organizational Life.” Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 58

2018   Byron, Reginald A., William Molidor**, and Andrew Cantu**. “U.S. Newspapers’ Portrayals of Home Invasion Crime.” The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice 57 (1): 250-277. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hojo.12257

2017 Byron, Reginald A. “Teaching About Police Violence with Open Source Police Shootings Data and Census Data” TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology. Washington DC: American Sociological Association. http://trails.asanet.org/Pages/Resource.aspx?ResourceID=13468

2017 Byron, Reginald A., Maria R. Lowe, Brianna Billingsley**, and Nathan Tuttle**. “Performativity Double Standards and the Sexual Orientation Climate at a Southern Liberal Arts University.” Journal of Homosexuality 64(5): 671-696. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00918369.2016.1196994

2015 Krivo, Lauren J., Reginald A. Byron, Catherine A. Calder, Ruth D. Peterson, Christopher R. Browning, Mei-Po Kwan, and Jae Yong Lee. “Patterns of Local Segregation: Do They Matter for Crime?” Social Science Research 54: 303-318. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X1500157X

2015 Byron, Reginald A. “Teaching the Sociological Imagination with SAT Data.” TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association. http://trails.asanet.org/Pages/Resource.aspx?ResourceID=12922

2014 Lowe, Maria R., Reginald A. Byron, and Susan Mennicke. “The Racialized Impact of Study Abroad on Students Subsequent Interracial Interaction.” Education Research International www.hindawi.com/journals/edri/2014/232687/

2014 Byron, Reginald A. and Vincent J. Roscigno. “Relational Power, Legitimation and Pregnancy Discrimination.” Gender & Society28(3): 435-462. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0891243214523123
*Press Coverage: www.whattoexpect.com/wom/pregnancy/0225/firms-find-ways-to-fire-pregnant-workers–study-.aspx

2013 Byron, Reginald A. “Teaching Tokenism with Occupational Sex Segregation Data.” TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology. Washington DC: American Sociological Association. http://trails.asanet.org/Pages/ResourceID=12729

2013 Lowe, Maria R., Reginald A. Byron, Griffin Ferry**, and Melissa Garcia** “Food for Thought: Frequent Interracial Dining as a Predictor of Students’ Racial Climate Perceptions.” The Journal of Higher Education 84(4): 559-600. (Lowe and Byron are co-lead authors) http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_higher_education/summary/v084/84.4.lowe.html
*Press Coverage: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/08/23/breaking-bread

2012 Byron, Reginald A. “Sexuality and Cultural Values.” TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology. Washington DC: American Sociological Association. http://trails.asanet.org/Pages/Resource.aspx?ResourceID=12522

2012 Roscigno, Vincent J., Lisa M. Williams, and Reginald A. Byron. “Workplace Racial Discrimination and Middle Class Vulnerability.” American Behavioral Scientist 56(5): 696-710. http://abs.sagepub.com/content/56/5/696.abstract

2010 Byron, Reginald A. “Discrimination, Complexity, and the Public/Private Sector Question.” Work and Occupations 37(4): 435-475.
http://wox.sagepub.com/content/37/4/435.abstract

2010 Browning, Christopher R., Reginald A. Byron, Catherine A. Calder, Lauren J. Krivo, Mei-Po Kwan, Jae Yong Lee, and Ruth D. Peterson. “Commercial Density, Residential Concentration, and Crime: Land Use Patterns and Violence in Neighborhood Context.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 47(3): 329-357. http://jrc.sagepub.com/content/47/3/329.abstract
*Press Coverage: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2010/10/17/less-crime-noted-in-mixed-use-neighborhoods.html

Other Recent Publications

2018 Byron, Reginald A. Review of Hard Work is Not Enough: Gender and Racial Inequality in an Urban Workspace by Katrinell M. Davis. American Journal of Sociology 123 (5): 1500-1501. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/695651

2015 Byron, Reginald A. Review of The Color Bind: Talking (and Not Talking) about Race at Work by Erica Gabrielle Foldy and Tamara R. Buckley. Work and Occupations 42(3): 381-383. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0730888415570574

Works Under Review

Byron, Reginald A. “Race and Public Accommodations Discrimination in an Era of Colorblindness.” Revise and Resubmit

Recent Papers/Presentations (since 2013)
** denotes Southwestern undergraduate student co-author

2018 Byron, Reginald A. “Race and Public Accommodations Discrimination in an Era of Colorblindness.” Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, Philadelphia, PA (August).

2018 Byron, Reginald A. and Vincent Roscigno. “Bureaucratic Legitimation, Discrimination, and the Racialized Character of Organizational Life.” Paper presented at the Southern Sociological Society Meetings, New Orleans, LA (April).

2017 Lowe, Maria R., Reginald A. Byron, Holly O’Hara**, and Dakota Cortez**. “Neutralizing the Harm of Sexist and Racist Jokes Among Undergraduate Students.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Montreal, Canada (August).

2017 Byron, Reginald A. “Employment Discrimination Activism and Intergenerational Change.” Paper presented at the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland (CERES) International Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland (June).

2017 Roscigno, Vincent J. and Reginald A. Byron. “Bureaucratic Neutrality, Employment and Race, Sex, and Age Discrimination.” Paper presented at the International Meeting on Law and Society, Mexico City, Mexico (June).

2017 Byron, Reginald A., Maria R. Lowe, Dakota Cortez**, and Holly O’Hara**. “Sexual Assault, Zero Tolerance Policies, and the Gender Climate at a Liberal Arts University”. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Greenville, SC (April).

2016 Byron, Reginald A., Maria R. Lowe, Nathan Tuttle**, and Brianna Billingsley**. “The Paradox of Colorblindness: Undergraduate Students’ Selective Perceptions about Race and Racial Diversity.” Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, Seattle, WA (August).

2015 Lowe, Maria R. and Reginald A. Byron. “The Specter of Gendered Aggression: Predicting Students’ Level of Comfort at Weekend Parties.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago, IL (August).

2015 Byron, Reginald A. “From Boston to Belfast: The Rhetoric of Racism in Employment Discrimination Cases in the U.S. and the U.K.” “Paper presented at the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland (CERES) International Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland (June).

2014 Byron, Reginald A. Maria R. Lowe, Brianna Billingsley**, and Nathan Tuttle**. “Performativity Double Standards and the Sexual Orientation Climate at a Southern Liberal Arts University.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA (August).

2014 Lowe, Maria R., Reginald A. Byron, Nathan F. Tuttle**, and Brianna Billingsley**. “On a Normal Day, Zero to One Times”: Predicting the Frequency with Which Students Think about Their Race at a Predominantly White Southern University.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Charlotte, NC (April).

2013 Byron, Reginald A. and Vincent Roscigno. “Relational Power, Legitimation and Pregnancy Discrimination.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, Milan, Italy (June).

Recent Invited Presentations

2017 Byron, Reginald A. “Implicit Bias, Microaggressions, and the March Toward More Inclusive Pedagogies” SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY (April).

2016 Byron, Reginald A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses of Employment Discrimination Charge Data” EEOC DataNet Conference, Washington, D.C. (June).