Dr. TOM R. LEPPARD
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Phone:
(561) 297-3270
Email:
tleppard@fau.edu
Office: CU 251
Website:
https://tom-r-leppard.github.io/
Research: Youth and Adolescence, Networks, Sports, Mental Health, Work, Cultural Industries, Family, Inequality
Teaching: Family, Relationships, Work, Social Network Analysis, Research Methods
Background
Tom R. Leppard is a sociologist who studies social capital and social networks. His work focuses on the confluence of relational and structural factors that drive people’s life outcomes, highlighting inequalities in access to influential resources. Specifically, he has published on these dynamics across settings such as the family, emerging adulthood, and cultural industries. This research deploys an array of methodological approaches, including advanced statistical regression techniques and computational methods such as network and text analysis. His work is published in peer-reviewed journals across sociological subfields as well as generalist social science—among them the British Journal of Sociology, Poetics, Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Currents, and Emerging Adulthood.
Tom earned his PhD in sociology from North Carolina State University where he also served as a postdoctoral scholar in the Data Science and AI Academy. His work has been awarded by the North Carolina Sociological Association and received support from various funders, including the National Science Foundation.
In addition to his research, he is dedicated to open-science education and dynamic data visualisation, authoring practical open-access coursebooks for social network analysis and computational methods. More information about Tom’s research, teaching, and other activities is available on his website https://tom-r-leppard.github.io/.
Selected Works
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS – ARTICLES
Leppard, Tom R., Andrew P. Davis. 2026. “The Ties that Rhyme: Duality in Symbolic and Structural Networks of Grime Music.” British Journal of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.70087
Leppard, Tom R. 2026. “’Culture Vultures’ and ‘Pagans’: Culture, Networks, and Boundary Work of Grime Overtime.” Sociation, 25(2), 1-18.
Leppard, Tom R., Anna Manzoni. 2025. “Bonding Ties That Get Ahead: Family Social Capital and Early Occupational Attainment.” Journal of Youth Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2025.2603380
Leppard, Tom R., and Mikaela J. Dufur. 2025. “Family Ties and Young Adult Career Goals: Does Family Social Capital Stretch into Emerging Adulthood?” Emerging Adulthood, 13(5):1219-1227. doi.org/10.1177/21676968251352009
Castellanos-Reyes, Daniela, Tom R. Leppard. 2025. “Online Project-Based Learning to Foster Students’ Career Choices in Data Science: A Longitudinal Case Study Using Sankey Visualization” International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education 22(63). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-025-00560-y
DeMarco, Laura M., Tom R. Leppard, and Sadé L. Lindsay. 2024. “Intersectional Bonds: Delinquency, Arrest, and Changing Family Social Capital during Adolescence.” Journal of Marriage and Family 87(2):505–526. doi.org/10.1111/jomf.13029
Dufur, Mikaela J., Tom R. Leppard, Jonathan A. Jarvis, and Kevin M. Shafer. 2024. “Do Status Characteristic-Based Stereotypes Influence Opportunities in Monoracial Settings? The Case of the National Hockey League.” Sage Open 14(3):21582440241269929. doi.org/10.1177/21582440241269929.
Hill, Terrence D., Tom R. Leppard, Michael V. Miller, Andrew P. Davis, and Veronica R. Zapata. 2023. “Pandemic Job Separation and Psychological Distress: Modeling Chains of Adversity.” Social Currents 10(5):465–99. doi.org/10.1177/23294965231183420.
Leppard, Tom R. 2022. “Athlete Activism and the Role of Personal and Professional Positionality: The Case of Naomi Osaka.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 57(8):1214–33. doi.org/10.1177/10126902211073907
Davis, Andrew P., Tom R. Leppard, and Alexander B. Kinney. 2022. “A Shame of Inches: Are Teams with Black Head Coaches More Heavily Penalized in Division 1 College Football?” Social Science Quarterly 103(2):259–73. doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13117.
Leppard, Tom R., and Mikaela J. Dufur. 2021. “Paternal Closeness in Adolescence: The Association of Sports and Gender.” Sociology of Sport Journal 39(4):401-411. doi/10.1123/ssj.2021-0062.
Leppard, Tom R., & *Darien Dixon. 2020. “The White House’s Response to Black Athletes’ Protests: Critically Analyzing Social Processes Between Leadership in Sports and Government.” The Journal of Student Leadership 4(1):71–80.
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS – BOOK CHAPTERS
Dufur, Mikaela J., Tom R. Leppard, Brianna K. Moodie. 2024. “The Ties That Bond?: Social Capital in Families.” Pp 271 -86 in Handbooks on Inequality, Handbook on Inequality and Social Capital, edited by Steve McDonald, Rochelle Côté, and Jing Shen. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/handbook-on-inequality-and-social-capital-9781802202366.html
Leppard, Tom R., Mikaela J. Dufur. 2023. “Exploring Gendered Stereotypes: Sports Participation and Adolescent Closeness to Mothers.” Pp. 25–42 in Family and Sport. Vol. 19, Research in the Sociology of Sport, edited by S. M. Ortiz. Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420230000019003
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS – TEACHING PUBLICATIONS
Leppard, Tom R. 2025. “The Magic of Duality: Mapping Individuals and Groups Using Harry Potter Networks”. TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology, August. Washington DC: American Sociological Association. https://trails.asanet.org/article/view/the-magic-of-duality-mapping
online teaching resources
Leppard, Tom R. “Social Network Analysis: A Guide Using Principles of the ADAPT Model.” 2025. Available at: https://tom-r-leppard.github.io/SP25_SNA_Book/
Leppard, Tom R. “Introduction to Data Visualisation.” 2025. Available at: https://tom-r-leppard.github.io/Intro_to_vis/