Jennifer McGovern, Ph.D.

Jen McGovern, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology at Monmouth University who is passionate about teaching and learning sociology. She specializes in understanding how sport both reflects and challenges social inequalities, such as social class, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and sexuality.

Her previous research focused on the ways that professional baseball’s institutional structures have grown and changed and how local baseball fans tell narratives about baseball players as the game has grown more global in scope. Her current research focuses on female athletes. She has written about female athlete attitudes about sexual assault and Latina women’s experiences in sport. In addition, she has worked on a  community needs assessment with various Asbury Park stakeholders. She is currently partnering with colleagues in the MU Health and Physical Education department to deliver and research after school physical education programs in Asbury Park. She is also working with students and faculty in Monmouth’s Psychology Department to conduct research on the gendering of sport toys.