How do you get from a farm in South Dakota to a lecture hall full of sociology students? For forensic sociologist Rosemary J. Erickson, PhD, it all started with her father. Without the hard work of Dewey Erickson, she would never have had the opportunity to discover her passion. Without the life lessons Dewey taught his children, Erickson would never have had the strength to pursue it.
Erickson looks back at her father as a young man and one of twelve children in a Norwegian American family. As the sixth son, Dewey was used to getting caught in the middle. He didn't even have a middle name because his parents had run out of names by then! Dewey could have resigned himself to always being overlooked, but he refused to let that be his fate. Instead, he struck out on his own and formed his own family.
In this celebration of her father's legacy, Erickson shows how Dewey carved a life for himself in the harsh wilderness of South Dakota. The lessons he taught her about perseverance, determination, and integrity gave her the strength to become an outstanding leader in a male-dominated field.
About the Author: Rosemary J. Erickson, PhD, was raised on a rural farm in South Dakota. Erickson received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and her master's degree in sociology from San Diego State University. Erickson earned her doctorate in sociology at the American University in Washington, DC.
Erickson has taught at San Diego State University and the American University. She has also served as a consultant for various organizations and government agencies interested in crime prevention. In addition to Prairie Patriarch, Erickson has written The Life of an Expert Witness, The Use of Social Science Data in Supreme Court Decisions, Armed Robbers and Their Crimes, and Paroled but Not Free. She contributed a chapter to the Handbook of Forensic Sociology and Psychology.
For more information about Erickson's work, visit her website, www.athenaresearch.com.
