Amy D'Unger

Amy D'Unger, Ph.D.

Dr. Amy D'Unger is a sociologist with interests in the areas of race, class, and gender; inequality; social policy; social control and eugenics; and crime. Her previous research has looked at the impact of neighborhood social disorganization, peer networks, family structures, and school ties on delinquency and crime over the life course.

She is currently researching the role of eugenic (involuntary) sterilization in the South as a tool of informal social control, particularly during the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. D'Unger has published in such journals as the American Journal of Sociology, the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, and the Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice on topics such as criminal careers, gender and offending, and feminist criminological theory.  

Dr. D'Unger has been recognized for excellence in academic advising by both Georgia Tech and the National Academic Advising Association, and has won teaching awards from both the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and Georgia Tech.  She is the past chair of the Division on Women and Crime of the American Society of Criminology.  She joined the Honors Program in February 2022 and is excited to lead such a diverse and vibrant community.  Dr. D'Unger also currently serves as the Vice President of the Georgia Collegiate Honors Council (President, 2025 - 2026) and the Interim Treasurer of the Southern Regional Honors Council.

Email Amy D'Unger
404-385-7533

Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology, Duke University
  • Graduate Certificate, Women's Studies, Duke University
  • M.A. (with Distinction), Sociology, Duke University
  • B.A., Sociology, College of William and Mary
  • B.A., English, College of William and Mary

Dr. D'Unger's CV

Awards and Distinctions

  • Emerging Leaders Program, Office of the Provost, 2024. 
  • Living Our Values Everyday (L.O.V.E. GT) Recognition, 2023.
  • Geoffrey G. Eichholz Faculty Teaching Award, 2021.
  • Hesburgh Award Faculty Teaching Fellow, 2021.
  • Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching Class of 1934 CIOS Teaching Award, 2020.
  • Chancellors Learning Scholar, 2019 - 2020.
  • Class of 1934 Undergraduate Educator Award, 2017.
  • Ivan Allen College Teacher of the Year, 2016.
  • Sarah Hall Award, Division on Women and Crime, American Society of Criminology, 2014.
  • Outstanding Advisor, Faculty, Region IV, NACADA, 2012.
  • Outstanding Advisor, Faculty, National Certificate of Merit, NACADA, 2011.
  • Faculty Advisor of the Year, Georgia Tech, 2010