Camara expressing his gratitude for the current and former students and faculty and staff that showed up to his retirement party. During retirement, Camara plans on moving to Chicago to live with his wife and continuing his research." />
Camara expressing his gratitude for the current and former students and faculty and staff that showed up to his retirement party. During retirement, Camara plans on moving to Chicago to live with his wife and continuing his research.
Evandro Camara, professor within the department of social sciences, sociology and criminology, is retiring after serving Emporia State for 30 years.
“I had already planned for this to be my last semester, I had been here for 30 years so it was time,” said Camara. “Plus my wife works in Chicago and I’ve been going back and forth every month for 20 years. Of course (during) last year’s disaster in the fall, I was among those people, but by that time I had already communicated my decision (to retire) to the chairperson here.”
Camara has been studying, researching and teaching sociology since his early 20s. During his career, he has published two books and numerous research papers and manuscripts.
“My research interest has been in race and ethnicity, religion, and culture in general, and all of this is approached from a theoretical standpoint,” said Camara. “This is important to highlight. Last year I published a book that dealt with intergroup relations, race relations, but from a theoretical perspective in sociology.”
A retirement party for Camera was hosted by the department of social sciences, sociology and criminology April 25th. During the party, Rebecca Rodriguez Carey, spoke about the profound impact Camara had on his students.
“Your legacy lives on in all who had the pleasure of taking your courses,” said Rodriguez Carey. “You really never know just how many people you have impacted. Though, while looking around the room, I can tell that it’s been a hell of a lot of people.”
Kerry Moyer, author and mental health professional who graduated from ESU in 1997, expressed his gratitude for Camara.
“Thank you Dr. Camera for being a teacher that made a difference in my life,” said Moyer. “I still recall hanging out in your office and you sharing your stories and knowledge. Even away from class you are interesting.”
Though Camara is leaving, his name will still be associated with the department.
“As a tribute to Dr. Camara, we are excited to launch the Camara Learning Series this fall,” said Rodriguez Carey. “A monthly brown-bag lunch series dedicated to a new topic each month. The topics may not be typically covered in typical classes in an effort to learn more and to do better.”