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Show FOCUS: SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT SU has high laW school acceptance rate By PHIL CHIDESTER OF THE JOURNAL STA FF I t may not be the most recognized or celebrated field of inquiry, but none has proven itself more vital to the development-and the very survivalof the m odem global community. "The human ities tend to study and refl ect upon value ," ays on e analysis of this SUU department's philo ophy. "Th department teaches of the cultural heritage, the factors infl uencing human behavior, the indi vidua l' rights and obligations as a citizen, and the function f the social structur and t he total society within which individuals Uve and work. "The ulti mate goal thi broad task .is to help the studen t galn a mature un derstanding of the human c mn uruty, from the workings of great political y t ms t the more im mediate problems of tn t rpcr onalrclations." It i a heady challenge indeed, turning humanity's inve tigative focu to its own de ires and m ti va ti n -one that UU's behavioral and ocia1 science department is more than ready to conquer. Wi th maj r courses of study in history, political cience an d sociology, the uni versi ty department ttracts the attention of students with a wide range of interests and career goals; and according to Wayne K. inton, head of the department, such variety has ade th department one of th most prolific producers of graduates on campus. "W offer bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in history, sociology and political science, and .ve cooperate with th departm nt of physical science rn offering a m inor in geography," Hinton said of the behavioral and social science effort. "We also offer a composite social science degree, which is primarily for those certifying to teach." And the list of career objectives shared by its students tends to be as diverse as the department's focuses of study. "Probably half of our history majors intend to teach, either at the college or at the secondary level," Hinton said. "Most of our sociology students are looking at careers in the service area, such as working in group homes; and the majority of our political science majors intend to enroll in law school, where we have had a good deal of success. We've had an amazing percentage of our students pass the LSAT and be accepted into Jaw school; over the past decade, the figure has been about 90 percent." The department has seen a good share of its history and s iciology students enroll in graduate schools as well. " One of our former students who is now attending Utah State University has reported back that he f els more ready for his post-graduate classes than many of the other students in his courses," he said, "and that includes graduates from Amherst and the University of Virginia-some very prestigious institutions." History a lifelong interest for department head Hinton F or Wayne K. Hinton, a lifelong intere t in th wonders and ubt le ties of hi tory began at home as a child- miles and years away from the walls and spaces of h is department head offices in the Southern U tah Univer ity Centrum. "My dad was a state legislator, and I was interes ted early on in politics, Hinton said. "In the 1950s, history was the study of pa t politics, and I read a lot of history books." What had been a childhood interest was transformed into an adult avocation soon after the budding historian made his way into the halls of higher learning. "When I went to college I was assigned an adviser who was a wonderful historian, and he had a dramatic influence on me," Hinton said. "By the time the quarter was over, I had declared a history major- and I've stuck with it ever since. " Graduating with a bachelor's degree from Utah State University in 1962, the future SUV department head earned a master's from USU in 1963, then a Ph.D. from Brigham Young U niver i ty in 1974. Completing post-doctorate work in environmental history at the University of California at Davis in 1976, he has been a 11 member of the SUU faculty since 1968, and has served as head of the behavioral and social science department for 12 years. Hinton 's extra-curricular achievements have been easily as impressive as his extensive educational resume. The author of numerous professional journal articles and books, including "Managing an Alpine Forest in a Desert Setting," a volume he completed for the U .S. Forest Service, and a popular history of the state of Utah that has been widely used as a textbook in the classroom, he has also served as a history consultant for the National Park Service. A member of the Utah State Board of History, Hinton has served with many state and national history organizations, and most recently created "The Spirit of Utah," a board and computer game that has been adopted by the Utah Board of Education for use in the public schools. " In order to be a student of history, you must first ha:ve good reading skills, and you must be curious about events, 11 Hinton said of his cho en field of study. "These are the people who like to ask 'why' and 'how,' and then to find the answer to the 'why' and 'how.' These are the people who like a good mystery, who like to discover the solutions hidden deep in documents and facts. '' Wti}1:"n e ·Hla.ton With the talented and dedicated facul ty SUU' behavioral and social science department has put together, such post-graduate success should be anything but a surpri e. At the moment we have 10 full-time fa culty: four in history, three in sociology and three in political science," Hinton said . "And by June, all but one of these faculty members will have Ph .Ds." One of the most decora ted teams on th e UU campus, the behavioral and social science faculty has also added a healthy dose of scholarly writing credentials to its teaching repu tation . According to Hinton, the department's profes or h ave published six. books and countle s hundred of article in professional journals. Take this skilled, professional fa culty, add a hearty mix f t udcnts and car er goals, a11d th n tos in uch support facili ti s an d offerings a a full computer lab and an activ e ch apter of the Phi Al pha T he a, a national honor soci ty for history ma jors- and th result i , by anyone' account, one of them st vibrant and energetic focuses of study to be fo und on any campus. "We're in the process of hiring a new o iology profe sor anti a new hist ry profe sor fo r next year, " Hinton sajd of the depa rtment. " We are growing rapidly: we have one of the h igh est FTE (numbers of full -time equivalency student ) at the un.iv rsit y. "Th ere are a number of reason why the department is so strong," Hinton added. "The subje t ma tter we teach is relevant to many tudents, and our teaching evaluations are co n istently among th e hi hes fall academic courses on campus. We have som excellent teachers, and we are cons tantly at the top level of teaching effectiveness." 11 |