1976

My first graduate seminar, in the fall of 1976, was in the area of Sociology of Education. The course examined the influence parents' social origins have on children's academic outcomes. At the time, while the pattern was incontrovertible, the mechanisms through which these patterns were sustained were very unclear. I found this question engaging and ultimately pursued it in my dissertation.

 

From the News-Gazette, Urbana.

Jorge Chapa, 62, of Urbana passed away at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana on Monday evening (Oct. 19, 2015).Jorge was born in Monterrey, Mexico, on Aug. 10, 1953, the son of Juan and Olga Chapa. He married Belinda De La Rosa on Sept. 4, 1982, in San Francisco, Calif.Jorge is survived by his mother; his wife; two sons, Juan and Roberto Chapa; one brother, Juan Chapa; and four sisters, Olga Chesser, Mercedes Robertson, Rosalinda Dussault and Elizabeth Chapa.

When I arrived at U.C. Berkeley I came with a desire to learn, and no clear idea about career. Studying with Ed Swanson, John Clausen, Bob Bellah, Gertrude Jaeger, Michael Burawoy, Burt Dreyfus, Dick Lazarus, Arlie Hochschild, and others at Cal was a privilege beyond measure. Working and studying in both the sociology and psychology departments, dabbling in philosophy and theology, participating in the NIMH Fellowship group on Personality and Social Structure, and volunteering with the "northside" Amnesty International chapter gave full vent to my multiple passions and interests.

In the past 20 years, I have done field research on the topic of police-minority relations in various contexts--Northern Ireland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the United States. Although I took no criminology courses at Berkeley (none were offered in the Sociology Dept!), it is fair to say that my interest in this topic originated at Berkeley.