The 94th Annual Meeting of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences took place on October 6th, 2023, on the campus of Indiana University, Kokomo. Over forty IASS members hailing from nearly twenty colleges and universities from throughout Indiana, the Midwest, and the world presented research papers spanning a dozen panels representing the disciplines of sociology, political science, education, marketing/economics, history, criminal justice, and psychology. This year also featured an interdisciplinary social science panel, Disparity and Diversity, which brought together scholars in marketing, leadership, and the humanities to discuss racial and economic challenges in current employment and education climates. The Undergraduate and Graduate Student Poster sessions had over a dozen submissions. At the Executive Business Meeting, held during the Meeting’s luncheon, President Monica Solinas-Saunders, Indiana University – Northwest, welcomed attendees and Indiana University Kokomo’s Chancellor Dr. Mark Canada, Executive Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Scott Jones, and Dr. Chris Darr, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Newly elected board positions included: Dr. J. Michael Raley, Hanover College, for Vice-President, Dr. Micah Pollack, Indiana University Northwest, for Treasurer, and Dr. Surekha Rao, Indiana University Northwest, for Editor of the Midwest Journal of Social Sciences.

The IASS bestowed the George C. Roberts Award for Best Paper in the Midwest Social Science Journal Volume 24 (2022) to Lisa S. Elwood of Ponce Health Sciences University, Samantha Goodin of Western Reserve Psychological Associates, Christine Naydenov of Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System, Nicole Baldonado of World Without Orphans, and Tamara Weaver of the Office of the Indiana Attorney General for their article, “Assessment Practices and Experiences of Sex Trafficking in Assessment Practices and Experiences of Sex Trafficking in Caseloads of Service Providers Working with High-Risk Youth in Caseloads of Service Providers Working with High-Risk Youth in Indiana.” Dr. Tanvir Pavel of Rose Hulman Institute of Technology and Margarita Rayzberg of Valparaiso University, each won Faculty Research Awards. Dr. Pavel will further investigate the project, “Social Networks, Shocks, and Consumption: Evidence from Rural Farmers in Bangladesh” and Dr. Rayzberg will use the award to fund the study, "Social isolation and Help-Seeking Behavior: Comparing Women in India in Joint versus Nuclear Families." The Graduate Student Research Award went to Huda Alqahtani of Ball State University, faculty sponsor Ligia E. Gomez, for “Exploring the Alignment between Pre-K Teachers' beliefs about Mindset and Their Practice during Read-Aloud.” The Undergraduate Student Research Award went to Alex Smith of Indiana University Kokomo, faculty advisor Kathryn Holcomb, for “Breaking the Bi-nary: A Comparative Study of the Coming Out Experience between Men and Women.” 

Greetings from the Indiana Academy of Social Sciences! We are excited about the year 2024 and the upcoming 95th Annual Meeting of the Indiana Academy of Social Science to be held in Evansville, Indiana on the campus of the University of Southern Indiana. This year, we want to hear from you, our members. Tell us what you’ve been up to, academic or otherwise. Do you want to share valuable information? Have you published an article, taken a trip, or visited a museum? We want to know. We’re interested in reporting on all the academic achievements and cool endeavors of our members, so we are inviting you to submit a brief academic blurb or a short article to our newsletter Endnotes. Contributions can be short commentaries on contemporary issues, reviews, community news, personal experiences, academic achievements/publications or any other helpful information related to the social sciences and academia. When submitting please be sure to include:

• Your name

• Academic affiliation

• Title

• Text (Between 150 – 300 words without endnotes)

• Photo (if applicable)

Email submissions to executive.secretary@iass.org. This year Endnotes is moving to an online format that can be updated throughout the year instead of the annual newsletter. This new design will allow us to connect more regularly with one another, so remember to look out for new articles and features. Hope to hear from you soon! 

Professor J. Michael Raley and Lauren R. Rippy, both of Hanover College, have recently published an article, "We Have a Right to Live in This Country": Reverend Moses Broyles and the Struggle for Social Justice and Racial Equality in Nineteenth-Century Indiana," in the Indiana Magazine of History. Rev. Moses Broyles (1826–1882) ranks as a leading figure in Indiana’s African American religious, political, racial, educational, and legal history. Born a slave in Maryland, he was sold as a child to John Broyles of Paducah, Kentucky, from whom he purchased his freedom in 1854. Thence he moved to Lancaster, Indiana, where he enrolled at the Eleutherian Institute. In 1857, he relocated to Indianapolis and joined the Second Baptist Church. Recognizing his oratorical skills and spiritual leadership, its members soon called Broyles as their pastor. As a bi-vocational minister, Rev. Broyles also taught at a private school for African American children and helped integrate Indianapolis High School. He was a fierce opponent of slavery who demanded equal rights and privileges for African Americans as U.S. citizens. Later, he served as a statewide leader in the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant even as he challenged Indiana’s anti-Black laws. 

Raley, Michael J. and Lauren Rippy. ""We Have a Right to Live in This Country": Reverend Moses Broyles and the Struggle for Social Justice and Racial Equality in Nineteenth-Century Indiana." Indiana Magazine of History. Vol. 120, No. 1 (March 2024): 32-71.