In sociology department, professor Fernandez-Kelly is lightning rod

Few professors are surrounded by an air of admiration and controversy as much as sociology professor Patricia Fernandez-Kelly.

“I have a history of sort of getting myself into deep trouble as a part of my research,” she noted casually. Her neatly organized, well-lit office in Wallace Hall makes such troubles and misfortunes seem far off, but a closer look at the photos and trinkets that line her walls tells a vastly different story.

Throughout her career, Fernandez-Kelly has involved herself intimately with her research and her students, bringing her friends and critics alike. In a view echoed by some of her students, she describes herself as a strong, determined person who speaks in a very open and direct manner.

“Trust me, I am not always that good-natured or that polite,” Fernandez-Kelly said when describing her temperament. While this personality has contributed to a long list of respected work in her field, it has also occasionally brought trouble.

She is restricted, for example, from entering the New Jersey State Prison. She joked that while most are trying to get out of prison, she is still trying to get into prison. From 2001 to 2005, Fernandez-Kelly visited this high-security prison on a weekly basis in collaboration with inmates who wanted to produce a nonprofit magazine.

On her wall sit photos of these men, many of whom were in prison for counts of first-degree murder. Nevertheless, Fernandez-Kelly pursued the publication, becoming closely connected with the men.

In 2005, she was forbidden from entering the prison on the basis that she had become an advocate of the prisoners by asking about the well-being of an inmate, she said. According to Fernandez-Kelly, her status as a well-off professor at a prestigious university made her subject to rumors.

“You immediately put yourself in a position in which many people are going to wonder if you are psychotic, a sexual deviant, whether you have too much time on your hands, whether you are lonesome and craving human contact,” Fernandez-Kelly said. “We see the poor as contaminants, so when you take them as serious people, a lot of things that start happening to them start happening to you. It’s not fun, but you learn a lot.”

This type of work has made Fernandez-Kelly well known in her field. She has published multiple books and articles in addition to coproducing a movie titled “Global Assembly Line,” which received an Emmy Award in 1987.

Though committed to her research, Fernandez-Kelly is ultimately dedicated to teaching, she said. As a professor and preceptor, Fernandez-Kelly has garnered both overwhelming praise and strong criticism. Her actions, such as beginning class at the start of the semester by specifically welcoming athletes, have been seen as encouraging by some and as discouraging by others.

One student who was granted anonymity in order to speak freely about the professor said the comment largely reflected the character of the class.

“I’m not a big fan. I thought there was an extraordinary lack of transparency in the class in how she conducted the grading,” the student noted. “It seemed like she was, to a very large degree, playing favorites. It was often towards people that she felt had a disadvantage."

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When asked to comment, Fernandez-Kelly seemed surprised. “I am very interested in athletes because I do believe that sometimes they are stigmatized on campus,” Fernandez-Kelly said. “I try to treat all students in the same way, and I didn’t know anyone had ever or could ever interpret my actions as awarding any special kind of preference to any students on the basis of anything. I simply acknowledge the gifts that all of them bring to the table.”

Fernandez-Kelly has also been known to provide a unique learning environment. She is reputed to require the attention of her students, refusing to accept yawning in class. She also frequently calls randomly on students for their input, urging them to speak by asking more questions.

“She was very strong-voiced. She was kind of intimidating,” Ben Goldman ’15, who shopped one of her courses, said. “She called on people randomly in lecture, and I was kind of like, ‘Oh, I hope she doesn’t call on me.’ ”

The anonymous student, who took SOC 340: God of Many Faces, said Fernandez-Kelly pressured students to speak about their personal beliefs.

“I felt like she — in terms of the religion aspect — was a bit too intimate with how she discussed people’s religion, in a way that made me uncomfortable,” the student said. “At some level, a teacher shouldn’t be asking about people’s personal religious preferences. I felt a bit coerced into having to discuss my personal religious preferences with her.”

A large part of Fernandez-Kelly’s teaching style also involves strongly encouraging her students to meet with her outside of the classroom for discussions of any kind that may often not directly relate to the course subject itself.

David Will ’14 has taken advantage of this invitation since his freshman year. Having taken and enjoyed classes with Fernandez-Kelly over the past two years, he said he hopes to take a third in the upcoming spring semester. Will now looks to Fernandez-Kelly as both an instructor and a mentor, though he said his relationship with her seemed unlikely at first.

“I’m not sure we agree on anything politically or view the world similarly,” he said. “But she still took a shine to me, and I was really grateful to her for taking me under her wing and sort of teach a freshman not to be an idiot.”

Will is also a columnist for The Daily Princetonian.

Katlin Poladian ’12 spoke highly of Fernandez-Kelly, who advised her senior thesis.

“She is the most wonderful woman in all aspects, all facets. She is not only encouraging and motivating; I felt that she knew me almost better than myself in that she pushed me and motivated me to my full potential," Poladian said.

Fernandez-Kelly said her goal as a professor and adviser is not to recruit sociologists. Aware that most of her students will not major in sociology, she said she is interested in leading them to understand the parts of society they may never encounter.

“Most of these folks are not going to be specialists. I don’t expect them to be sociologists. These are the populations that I have a greater interest in,” Fernandez-Kelly said. “It is the nonspecialists that either change or do not change the world.”