K. Stephen Blanchard, PhD
Professor of Sociology
Director of Sociology Program
Chair of the Department of Applied Social and Cultural Sciences

Contact Info:
Office: Moye 215
Phone : 210-434-6711, ext. 2273
Fax : 210-431-3927
E-M ail: blank@lake.ollusa.edu

Education: 
PhD, 1997, The University of Texas at Austin (Sociology and Population Studies)
MPh, 1991, The University of Texas School of Public Health
BA, 1971, University of Houston (Social History)




Visit the
Faculty Research & Projects page
for more on Dr. Blanchard's studies on the link between mercury and autism rates. And learn about his role with the local Health Collaborative, where he is chair of the 2010 Community Health Assessment.
Research Interests:
Recently: That ambient mercury has a statistically significant effect on the risk of autism: where ambient mercury is high, the risk of autism is high. Spatial analysis of the relationship using  ambient mercury assessments of the Environmental Protection Agency and counts of autism by school district.

More generally: Contextual (composite and global) analysis, macro influences on individual level behavior; social demographics of inequality; hierarchical modeling of social and health differences that partitions individual, group, and place effects, with cross-level interactions; spatial analysis of social and health phenomena

Courses Taught:
Social Statistics, Qualitative Methods (Undergraduate and Graduate), Quantitative Methods (Undergraduate and Graduate), Society and Health (Graduate), Demography (Undergraduate and Graduate), Geographic Information Systems as a Tool in Social Science Research, Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Writing

Publications:
Ray Palmer, Steve Blanchard, Robert Wood, Claudia Miller. ‘Proximity to point sources of environmental mercury release: associations with longitudinal rates of change in autism prevalence,’ 2009, Journal of Health and Place

Benjamin Bradshaw, David Smith, Steve Blanchard.  ‘A cohort study of tuberculosis and the 1918 influenza,’ currently under review, Social Biology

(Raquel Marquez, Louis Mendoza, Steve Blanchard. ‘Neighborhood Formation on the West Side of San Antonio, Texas, accepted for publication by Latino Studies, January 2007

Ray Palmer, Steve Blanchard, David Mandell, Claudia Miller. ‘Environmental mercury release, special education rates, and autism disorder: an ecological study of Texas,’ Health and Place (12) 2006

Ray Palmer, Steve Blanchard, David Mandell, Carlos Jaen. The association between school district resources and identification of children with autistic disorder,’ American Journal of Public Health , January 2005

James Speer, Tom Reynolds, Bill Spears, Steve Blanchard, Cynthia Warwick. ‘Information for rural economic and community health: progress toward an integrated system,’ Journal of Texas Rural Health , Winter 2003

(Michael Parchman, M.D., Robert Ferrar, M.D., Steve Blanchard. ’Using GIS in family medicine research, ‘ The Journal of Family Practice Medicine , Spring 2002

Myron Gutmann, Parker Frisbie, Michael Haines, Steve Blanchard. ‘Intra-ethnic diversity in Hispanic child mortality, 1890 – 1910,’ Demography , November 1999

Myron Gutmann, Parker Frisbie, Steve Blanchard.  ‘A new look at the Hispanic population in the United States in 1910,’ Historical Methods , Winter, 1999

Benjamin Bradshaw, David Johnson, and Derral Cheatwood, Steve Blanchard. ’ An historical geographical study of lethal violence in San Antonio,’ Social Science Quarterly , 1998

Benjamin Bradshaw, Steve Blanchard, George Thompson. ‘The ‘New World Syndrome’ in the Mexican origin population: a multiple cause of death analsysi,’ Social Biology 1997

Benjamin Bradshaw, Steve Blanchard, George Thompson. ’Postneonatal diarrhea mortality of Mexican American and Anglo American infants: trends and context, Population Research and Policy Review 1996


Our Lady of the Lake University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Our Lady of the Lake University.
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