Degrees

Ph.D., Boston College; M.A., Boston College; B.S., Boston University.

Short Bio

Dr. Lydia Voigt holds the Reverend Joseph H. Fichter, S.J., Distinguished Professorship in the Social Sciences and is Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Sociology as well as the current chairperson in the Department of Sociology. Dr. Voigt has been a member of Loyola’s faculty for thirty years. She was promoted to the rank of professor in 1990, chaired the sociology department from 1983-1992, was the 1997 recipient of the Dux Academicus Award for outstanding achievement, and awarded the Diversity Champions Award in 2001. From 2001 through 2003, Dr. Voigt served as Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Prior to this appointment, she was Associate Provost for Academic Affairs for five years including one year as Assistant Provost. In July 2001, the National Conference on Student Recruitment, Retention, and Marketing recognized Dr. Voigt’s leadership and Loyola’s campus-wide retention accomplishments with an award for excellence. Also, in August 2001, she was the recipient of the Effective Retention Program Award presented by the National Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange (NCSRDE).

Dr. Voigt’s Ph.D. and M.A. degrees are in sociology from Boston College and her undergraduate degree in psychology is from Boston University. Her main areas of expertise include: criminology, contemporary social theories, statistics, and research methodology. She has authored and/or co-authored seven books and over fifty publications including monographs, chapters, journal articles, reviews, grant reports, and evaluation studies; and she has given over 100 presentations and invited lectures at professional conferences around the world.

Currently she is collaborating on an extensive analysis of the structural co-variates of homicide patterns in New Orleans, a project that derives from a call by city officials to help address the community’s problem of violence. This body of research represents important public service to the New Orleans metropolitan community, which in Dr. Voigt’s case spans over thirty years of service on numerous taskforces, statewide commissions, and participation in various research initiatives.

Dr. Voigt’s first priority, however, are her students. She believes that in addition to teaching basic and technical skills and major disciplinary content, it is an educator’s responsibility and mission to ensure that students develop community and global literacy, an appreciation for diversity, and a commitment to lifelong learning and service. “It is when students are able to apply what they learn to real world problems and at the same time learn something about their world and themselves that their education begins to have true meaning.”