May 5, 2002
AMES, Iowa - Iowa State University has named Paul Lasley the new chair of the Department of Sociology.
Lasley will begin his new duties on July 1. The professor of rural sociology has been an ISU faculty member since 1981. He succeeds Robert Schafer, who is completing a three-year term and will retire June 30.
Lasley, a native of Queen City, Mo., received his bachelor's degree in animal husbandry, master's in sociology and doctorate in rural sociology from the University of Missouri in Columbia.
He will continue conducting the Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll, which focuses on the social organization of U.S. agriculture and rural communities. For the past 20 years, Lasley has surveyed farm operators and families in Iowa about agricultural and rural development issues. The results provide an overview of how changes in agriculture influence the quality of life in local communities. In addition, he conducts research and extension programs in rural development, community development, sustainable agriculture and leadership in agriculture.
For 20 years, Lasley taught a course in agriculture in transition and society, which he developed. He also has taught courses on agriculture and rural development in Ireland and will be teaching an ethics in agriculture course this fall.