Colleen Butler-Sweet, Ph.D.

Dr. Butler-Sweet has been at Sacred Heart for over 13 years. As an associate professor in the department of Sociology, Criminology and Criminal justice, her primary areas of interest include sociology of the family, race and ethnicity and racial identity.

Her research focuses on racialized family structure and explores the combined impact of race and class on identity development in varying family contexts. In recent articles in Social Identities and The Journal of Comparative Family Studies, she examines how middle-class identity is learned and negotiated in families where parents and children may or may not be of the same race, particularly families formed through transracial adoption. In line with her research, Dr. Butler-Sweet teaches courses in Racial and Ethnic Relations, Changing Families, Youth and Society and Deviance and Social Control.

Dr. Colleen Butler-Sweet is also the Co-Host of the True Crime Podcast “Criminal Appeal with Dr. Casey Jordan” where her sociological insight adds depth and humanity to discussions of crime and justice.