Abdi Kusow is a Perfect Fit for Iowa State

Abdi Kusow has been a great addition to the department of Sociology at Iowa State University.  Kusow was hired this fall as an Associate Professor of Sociology. He brings with him a vast knowledge of teaching and a reputation for cutting-edge research.
 
Kusow was previously an Associate professor at Oakland University in Michigan.  He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Wayne State College.
 
 This fall semester Kusow has been teaching Sociology 330, which is an undergraduate sociology course in race and ethnicity.  The class has around 150 students which has been a little adjustment from his 35 student class size at Oakland University. 
 
One of the first projects in Kusows class is looking into ones ancestry and comparing and contrasting it with someone from another ethnicity.
 
First, the student contacts their family and assembles a family tree.  Next the student interviews someone of another ethnicity.  The student asks two questions, Have you ever felt discriminated against, and What do you think of the future of race relations and identities in the United States.  The student reads the answers and compares and contrasts the information with his/her own answers.
 
The students are very excited about this project and it has been very interesting. Kusow says.
 
Kusow and his family have adjusted quite well to Ames and are enjoying the perks of living in a small community.  He and his wife, Lul, love the Ames school system and it has been great for their two boys, Omar and Abbas.
 
We were never able to go to football games in Michigan, but my boys and I love to go to the Iowa State games. Kusow says.
 
When Dr. Kusow is not cheering on the cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium or teaching his Sociology courses, he is busy with his research.  He researches the social economic achievement and demographic settlement patterns of the African immigrant population in the United States.  Kusow is ultimately looking at how understanding of racial identities is changing.