Nicole Loftus

Nicole joined Saddleback College in Fall 2007 as an adjunct faculty member. She has also taught at Palomar College. She currently teaches at Saddleback College and Argosy University. Her teaching responsibilities include Introduction to Sociology (onsite, hybrid, and online), Social Problems (online), Marriage and Family (hybrid, video, and online), and Sociology of Aging (hybrid/online). Nicole serves as the co-advisor for the Sociology Club and participates in the Distance Education, Associate Faculty Support, and Student Technical Support Committees. She also serves as the co- Service Learning coordinator on campus. For the past two years Nicole has worked with a few colleagues to develop a new Gerontology Certificate Program on campus, which begins in Fall 2011.

In addition to her teaching, Nicole is the program director for the Saddleback College Foster and Kinship Care Education Program. The FKCE program is a part of the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. This program provides education and support opportunities for current or prospective foster parents and kinship (relative) caregivers in Orange County to meet state licensing requirements. They are currently expanding the program across the county and have continued partnerships with the Orange County Social Services Agency, Orangewood Children's Foundation and Home, Olive Crest Kinship Center, local school districts, and many community family resource centers. For more information, please visit our website at www.saddleback.edu/sbs/fkce. In her free time, Nicole enjoys running, going to the beach, anything active and outdoors, reading, scrapbooking and taking pictures, and, most importantly, hanging out with friends and family.

M.A., California State University, Fullerton, 2007
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 2006

Research Interests:
Sociology of aging/gerontology, health/medicine, sports, marriage and family, inequality, gender studies, service learning, and addictions.

Presentations:

"Getting Started with Service Learning" (faculty online workshop; flex week; Institute for Teaching and Learning)

"SPSS: An Introduction"

Foster and Kinship Care Education Program (various)