Celebration of Life Event for Dr. Amy Denissen

Honoring the Memory of Our Colleague Amy Denissen

The CSUN community was saddened to hear about the death of Dr. Amy Denissen, who passed away on May 1, 2016. She died at the age of forty-three, after a six-year journey with ovarian cancer. Amy began her academic career in her home state of Wisconsin earning her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She went on to earn a master’s degree in Sociology from Syracuse University and her Ph.D. in Sociology from UCLA. Amy joined the Sociology faculty at CSUN in 2006 and was an active member of the CSUN community. She served on many university committees and as a member of the University Faculty Senate. As a public sociologist,  Amy did research in the areas of Gender, Sexuality, Work, Labor, and Organizations. Her research on women in the building trades (electricians, surveyors, carpenters, and metal workers) highlighted the ongoing discrimination that women face in this male dominated field. Amy’s research appeared in both academic journals such as Gender and Society and The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography and reports published by the City of Los Angles Labor Committee on Construction Opportunity.

An advocate for labor and social justice issues, Amy was a CFA activist, the Organizing and Membership Chair (2011-12) and a member of the California Faculty Association’s Executive Board on our campus. In 2011 she carried out a study for the UCLA Civil Rights Project on the impact the budget crisis had on faculty and students at CSUN. Amy was a beloved teacher and mentor who worked closely with undergraduate students in the Work & Society option within the sociology major. She was also very involved with the master’s degree program, serving on thesis and comprehensive exam committees and teaching courses on Feminist Theory and Qualitative Methods. Amy was an engaged colleague who could be depended on to complete any task. She strongly believed in public higher education and the opportunities it provides for a diverse student body. Her dedication and devotion to her students, colleagues, friends, and the broader community will be sorely missed but not forgotten.