This award is
presented annually to honor outstanding contributions to the
undergraduate and/or graduate teaching and learning of sociology, which
improve the quality of teaching. This year, the award selection
committee decided to honor two individuals for their distinguished
contributions to teaching, Dr. Robert Hauser and Dr. Michael Burawoy.
Robert Hauser
Robert M. Hauser’s scholarship has profoundly changed several fields in
which he has worked, including social stratification, social
demography, and statistical methodology. His scholarly contributions
have been widely recognized through numerous honors to his credit.
However, former students felt that his important contributions to the
sociological profession as an outstanding mentor to graduate students
had not been appropriately acknowledged. He has served as mentor to
scores of successful sociologists. His students consistently praise his
level of engagement, close involvement in their work, and how he shares
his wisdom. He is committed to the solid intellectual development of
his protégés, and his dedication extends to those who are not
officially “his” advisees. His students continue to emulate Hauser’s
mentoring skills. They credit him for teaching them how to maintain a
solid intellectual track. Finally, he engages his students in numerous
professional socialization opportunities, all in an effort to invest in
the discipline’s future.
Michael Burawoy
Michael Burawoy’s students note that he has made it his life’s work to
place teaching on an equal footing with his well-regarded scholarship.
Many of his graduate students have gone on to become very successful
sociologists, have published their dissertations, and have collaborated
with Burawoy on projects. They extol his devotion to his students, note
with rich detail his intellectual impact on their work and his approach
to the discipline, and comment on his desire to learn from his
students. His commitment to undergraduate education is seen in the high
respect given to his demanding theory course. He has inspired countless
undergraduates to pursue sociology as a career.