Graduate Studies Updates

Picture of person sitting in front of Strong Hall Jayhawk

Graduate Student Activities

Jennifer Babitzke- Since 2023, Jennifer Babitzke has worked as a graduate research assistant with Dr. Carrie Wendel-Hummel in the school of social work on a project developing training and career pathways for DSWs (direct support workers) who provide in-home care to individuals with disabilities and long-term care needs. This project ended in December 2025, and resulted in over 60 hours of free, online training modules and reports to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) about how to grow and strengthen the DSW workforce. Jennifer was the sole author of three training modules "DSW Burnout and Approaches to Self-Care", "Workplace Communication and Conflict Resolution for DSWs", and "Social Determinants of Health." In addition to training, the project designed a career pathway for DSWs; worked to connect existing in-home care workers to individuals or agencies needing their services; conducted innovative surveys and data analysis about DSW satisfaction and the state of the workforce in Kansas; and inaugurated the first state-wide DSW of the Year Award. KDADS continues to host the website, training modules, and, possibly, the DSW of the Year Award. More information about this project can be found at: https://ksdsw.org/. Jennifer presented this project at MSS in March discussing the process of engaging in community-based participatory research. The reports generated from this project include:

  • Wendel-Hummell, Carrie L., Kelsey S. Goddard, Jennifer Babitzke, Miranda McKenzie, Whitney Grube, Linda Heitzman-Powell, Chris Engler, Lora Swartzendruber, Yujin Oh, Nathan Jones, Zhiqi Li, and Jason Dailey. 2025. Kansas DSW Training Project: Final Report. Prepared for Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS). University of Kansas, Kansas Direct Support Workforce Development.
     
  • Babitzke, Jennifer, Yujin Oh, Carrie Wendel-Hummell, Whitney Grube, and Nathan Jones. 2025. Training Supplemental Report A: Direct Support Workforce Baseline Training Survey Results. Supplemental Report Prepared for KDADS. University of Kansas, Kansas Direct Support Workforce Development.
     
  • Babitzke, Jennifer, Carrie Wendel-Hummell, and Miranda McKenzie. 2025. Training Supplemental Report B: Direct Support Worker (DSW) Post-Training Survey Results. Supplemental Report Prepared for KDADS. University of Kansas, Kansas Direct Support Workforce Development.
     
  • Wendel-Hummell, Carrie L., Kelsey Goddard, Patricia Oslund, Carlos Zambrana, Jennifer Babitzke, Jason Dailey, Miranda McKenzie, Lora Swartzendruber, and Whitney Grube. 2025. Kansas DSW Career Ladder Project: Final Report. Prepared for Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS). University of Minnesota, Research and Training Center on Community Living, Institute on Community Integration. 

Jennifer is also actively conducting interviews, analyzing data, and writing her dissertation findings for her project tentatively titled, "The Hidden Dimensions of Care: Understanding the Mental Labor of Informal Caregivers." Jennifer anticipates completing and defending this project in May 2027. In the past year, Jennifer has received awards from KU's Doctoral Student Research Fund and the KU Summer Research Scholarship in support of this dissertation project. More information about this project can be found at: https://www.jbabitzke.com/. Jennifer will be presenting initial findings of her dissertation and results from the DSW Training project at the Kansas Governor's Conference on Aging at KU on September 29th and 30th, 2026.

This also marks Jennifer's last year serving as managing editor for the Social Thought and Research (STAR) journal within the department. The journal published their most recent volume (38) in July 2026: https://journals.ku.edu/star/issue/view/2771

 

Zahra Mansoursharifloo - Over the past academic year, I have received several funding awards to support my research and presentations. These include the Sociology Department’s Sass Graduate Student Scholarship for $2,000 and the Wadad Kadi Travel Grant from the Middle East Association of America for $500. 

Additionally, this year the graduate committee graciously offered me the opportunity to serve as the instructor of record for SOC 130: Comparative Societies. In return for their trust, I worked diligently to design and teach the course in a creative and engaging manner. As a result of my efforts, I was nominated by the department for the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award at KU, which has been truly an honor and a privilege.

Last academic year, I also participated in workshops and boot camps to develop my skills in public humanities, including the Applied Humanities Boot Camp at the University of Kansas. Upon completing this workshop, I earned a certificate and received a $500 award.

Thanks to the generosity and support of the department and its donors, I successfully completed another academic year. I am very grateful for all the opportunities and support I have received.

 

Qixin Pan - Qixin Pan recently successfully defended the dissertation proposal in May. Additionally, Qixin was named an IPSR Doctoral Research Fellow and received the 2026–2027 Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) Research Fellowship.

 

Matheus Romanetto - I had one book chapter published late 2025: "Information and capital: elements for a political economy of AI", in: Bhabani Nayak (ed.). Dialectic of Digital Enlightenment. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Two others have been approved, and should be out between now and December:

"From the concept of form to the form of the concept: Kant and Hegel in Erich Fromm's Thought". In: Rory Varato and Jeremiah Morelock (eds.). The Frommian Mind. London: Routledge.

"Social character". in: Douglas Kellner and Rainer Winter (eds.). Critical Theory Handbook. Glos: Elgar Publishing.

Besides the department's Sass Fund, I have been awarded the Tinker Field Research Grant (Tinker Foundation) and the Sherman & Irene Dreiseszun Scholarship (Truman Foundation). I was also accepted to a Summer School called "Critique and Emancipation" at the Orient-Institut in Beirut, but will not be able to attend for lack of funds.

There have been too many conference presentations to note, most notably at the 5th ISA Forum 2025 (Rabat, Morocco), SBS 2025 (Sao Paulo, Brazil 2025) MSS 2026, and upcoming: BRASA 2026 (Salvador, Brazil) and ALAS 2026 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

 

Sepideh Yadegar - I’m happy to share the news that my manuscript, “Why Women Kill Their Husbands: A Qualitative Study of Gendered Experiences Among Incarcerated Women in Iran,” has been accepted for publication in Women & Criminal Justice.