In Memoriam: Christine Ingraham, 1947-2024

Christine Ingraham, professor of sociology at Purchase College of the State University of New York, passed away on May 7, 2024. She was 76 years old.

Throughout her career, Dr. Ingraham taught a wide range of courses at colleges and universities throughout the state of New York including Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Skidmore College, and the State University of New York at Albany, as well as Smith College in Massachusetts. She earned her first tenured professorship at Russell Sage College in New York. During her tenure there, she served as director of women’s studies, co-founder of The Allies Center for the Study of Difference and Conflict, co-founder of the Allies Choir, and co-founder of the Management and Social Responsibility major. In 2007, she transitioned to the State University of New York’s Purchase College, where she taught sociology, rebuilt the college’s sociology program, and co-founded the Latin American studies major.

As a scholar, Dr. Ingraham studied gender, race, and social inequality. Her research led to several publications, including White Weddings: Romancing Heterosexuality in Popular Culture (Routledge, 1999). Towards the end of her career, she began studying and teaching topics that were often excluded from mainstream research such as astro-sociology, conflict management, mediation, and critical race theory.

Dr. Ingraham was a three time graduate of Syracuse University, where she received her bachelor’s degree, a master of public administration degree, and Ph.D. in sociology.