If serving at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day, do not make the assumption that every couple there is in a romantic relationship. Assistant Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology Ryan LeCount was taken to a restaurant on Valentine’s day by professor of sociology Sharon Preves as part of his interview process for Hamline.

“It was awkward and hilarious… I was already really attracted to Hamline but had absolutely fallen in love after the interview,” LeCount said.

LeCount, who has been interested in sociology since his undergraduate education, learned in his graduate education that he wanted to call an institution like Hamline home.

“I was really frustrated by the fact that many of my peers appeared to care only about their own careers and status. It made absolutely clear to me what my values were and what kind of community of scholars I wanted to be a part of,” LeCount said.

He has found that community here at Hamline in both the staff and the students.

“What I love about Hamline is that it is a place where people take big ideas and their implications very seriously. I love the passion that students bring to their work and to their broader role in the world. I have the privilege of being a member of a great faculty full of brilliant teachers, accomplished scholars and amazing human beings,” LeCount said.

LeCount’s role in this community does not go unrecognized by others.

“Professor LeCount is a wonderful asset to our campus community. His research, activism and community engagement around issues of race, racism and white privilege is important and impactful,” said sociology professor and Social Justice Program Director Valerie Chepp.

This concept of collaboratively working towards betterment and understanding is one LeCount aims to incorporate in the classroom.

“I see learning as a collaborative enterprise, a process of creating understanding in partnerships… It’s important to me that students take the responsibility to invest energy and openness in the educational process and not focus merely on the ‘goal’ or ‘outcome,’” LeCount said.

Senior Lecturer of Biology Kathy Burleson also works closely with LeCount and had many words of praise.

“He is eager to collaborate with colleagues and is always willing to dive into difficult conversations that impact our campus community and our society. He is a good ally due to his depth of knowledge and experience as well as his graceful and humble approach to complex problems,” Burleson said.

Particularly, Burleson mentioned all the work LeCount has done with Diversity Initiatives Steering Committee (DISC) and National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE).

“He helped DISC to develop and analyze data from the campus diversity climate survey, he’s brought important programming to the campus to explore race and masculinity and his scholarly research on whiteness has brought national attention to Hamline,” Burleson said.

At the end of the day, LeCount hopes students take the chance to engage in their academic experience as well.

“Seek out things that you don’t understand — especially things that don’t seem to make any sense to you. The world is a much more complex place than most of us understand. We all have more to learn… be open for those people, texts and experiences that still have so much to teach us,” LeCount said.