Michael S. Walker, MS
Research Scholar and all around fun guy
Mike Walker holds a joint appointment with the Sociology Program and the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at FHSU.
He joined the Docking Institute in 2000 as a research scientist. He was promoted to assistant director in 2006 and director in 2017. In the fall of 2019, Mike transitioned to a research scholar position. His academic specialties/interests include rural sociology, community theory, population change, research methods, the sociology of cinema, and environmental sociology. His applied research specialties include research design, survey and focus group research, strategic planning, and program assessment. He has served as the lead researcher for more than 100 of labor and employment studies across Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
Mike is a member of the Rural Sociological Society, the Community Development Society, and the American Association for Public Opinion Research. He served on the USD 489 Board of Education from 2018-2021 (VP from '18-'19 and Pres. from '19-'21). Mike received a master of science degree in sociology from Utah State University.
Before coming to FHSU, Mike conducted ethnographic and survey work in California, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho. He also participated in a few archaeological digs in southern Utah, worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and served in the U.S. Army. While in the military, he received extensive survival and tactical training, and completed month-long training exercises in the deserts of California, the mountains of Utah, and the swamps of Georgia. This training, he notes, comes in handy during faculty and staff meetings.
Mike spends his free time with Michelle and their pets, cheers on the New York Mets, and stays active in the Star Trek community through groups like STARFLEET and USS Barnstormer. The latter being a chapter in Hays, KS.
If you are interested in his Thirtysecondsociologist video posts, please use the links below. He shares short, 30-second videos about sociological issues and concepts.