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Dr. Lynda Ames


Professor Emerita of Sociology

I am interested primarily in the how society arranges work and rewards. I study what “work” means in our society, how it is organized, and what our working lives are like. An integral part of this study is how we get paid for this work. I’ve spent many years analyzing the disparity between the pay of men and that of women, and assisting organizations wishing to rectify any bias in their pay-setting systems. These organizations include various states, cities, and counties in the U.S., and labor unions and provincial and federal governments in Canada. I conducted research with a colleague here in the North Country with low-income women. Our book documents their struggles for respect and for the resources to move their families out of poverty.

I am also working on reducing violence against women. I’ve analyzed the efforts of Clinton County against domestic violence. I help administer a federal grant on campus to reduce sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Dr. Ames earned her B.A. at UCLA and her graduate degrees at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She now lives happily (on the opposite end of the country) with her partner, two large dogs, and four cats in a tiny hamlet between the forest and the lake.

  • Education
    • Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara, 1986
    • M.A. in Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara, 1982
    • B.A. in Sociology, University of California at Los Angeles, 1976
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