Congratulations to the 2008 ASA Award Winners

ASA proudly announces the winners of the ASA Awards for 2008. The awards are the highest honor that the Association confers. These outstanding scholars will be recognized at the 2008 Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony in Boston, MA, on Saturday, August 2 at 4:30 pm. The Awards Ceremony will immediately precede the formal address of ASA President Arne Kalleberg.

The ASA awards honor sociologists for outstanding publications and achievements in the scholarship, teaching, and practice of sociology. The recipients are selected by committees directly appointed by the ASA Council.

The officers of the Association extend heartfelt congratulations to the following honorees:

W.E.B. DuBois Award for Distinguished Scholarship: Barbara F. Reskin (University of Washington)

Barbara Reskin’s theoretical and empirical writings have reoriented research on gender and racial inequalities, particularly in employment, and serve as a model for sociological scholarship that is theoretically rich and politically relevant.

Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology: John McKinlay (New England Research Institutes)

John Mc Kinlay is an internationally prominent medical sociologist who has made landmark contributions to public health, epidemiology, medical training, clinical decision making, and health policy through his research which has been conducted both within and outside the academy.

Distinguished Book Award: Robert Courtney Smith (Baruch College and Graduate Center) for Mexican New York: Transnational Lives of New Immigrants (University of California Press)

The book shows how migration decisions, assimilation patterns, gender relations among both first and second generation immigrants, the development of adolescent identities, religious experiences, political participation in American and Mexican communities, the process of racialization, social mobility patterns through the life course, and the participation in gangs are all influenced by transnational life and how transnational lives are influenced by the above social processes. 

Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award: Elizabeth Grauerholz (University of Central Florida)

Professor Grauerholz a gifted teacher and accomplished textbook author and her tireless efforts to improve teaching throughout the discipline are truly remarkable.

and Carol Jenkins (Glendale Community College)

Her contributions to teaching about rural communities have been profound and she has been a champion of including issues of diversity in the curriculum.

Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award: Cora B. Marrett (National Science Foundation)

The award is for a lifetime of research, teaching, and service to the community in the tradition of these namesakes.  This year’s awardee, Dr. Cora Marrett, exemplifies this tradition.  In her positions as teacher, researcher, administrator, and program officer she has been praised as a powerful advocate for inclusion. 

Excellence in the Reporting of Social Issues Award: Michael Apted (President of the Directors Guild of America)

Jessie Bernard Award: Arlie Russell Hochschild (University of California–Berkeley)

Through her commitment to scholarship on women and gender, her extensive publications, and her mentoring of graduate students, Arlie Hochschild has had an enormous impact on the fields of the sociology of gender, the sociology of the family, the sociology of emotions, and the study of contemporary work and family life.

Award for Public Understanding of Sociology: David R. Segal (University of Maryland–College Park)

His influential translation of military scholarship for multiple audiences makes him a most worthy recipient of this award.

and Shirley Laska (University of New Orleans)

Despite being displaced from her home and office by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Professor Laska worked tirelessly giving interviews, making presentations, conducting media appearances, and testifying before Congress to emphasize that Hurricane Katrina was anything but a “natural” disaster.