Cheryl Laz, PhD

Beginning in 1991 until her retirement in 2023, Dr. Laz taught courses in Sociology, Women and Gender Studies, Food Studies, and the Core Curriculum. In all her courses, from 100-level introductory courses to the senior Capstone, she sought to develop students’ capacities for critical thinking and clear, effective writing. Her substantive interests in sociology are eclectic, reflected in courses on gender, literature, age, chickens, women’s work, theory, food, hunger and poverty, and social justice. 

Professor Laz’s best known publications explore the social construction of age (“Act Your Age,” Sociological Forum 1998; “Age Embodied,” Journal of Aging Studies 2003). Other research focused on food systems, particularly on alternatives to the industrialized food system.

During her 33 years at USM, Professor Laz served in a variety of leadership roles, including as department chair, chair of the Core Curriculum Committee, and chair of the University Curriculum Committee. She was also on the faculty of the Women and Gender Studies Program and the Food Studies Program. 

In retirement, Dr. Laz continues to exercise her sociological imagination but is glad to have more time for making art, playing outside, and delivering natural history education.