Though your parents may not believe it, there are thousands of accomplished people with BA, MA, and PhD degrees in sociology, who are not necessarily Sociologists with a capital “S.” Below is a list of just a few, found by Peter Dreier, Occidental College, for his commencement address to the 2001 department of sociology graduating class of the University of Oregon.

Politics:

Wellington Webb, mayor of Denver

Brett Schundler, mayor of Jersey City

Annette Strauss, former mayor of Dallas

Rev. Martin Luther King

Roy Wilkins, former head of NAACP

Rev. Jesse Jackson

Rev. Ralph Abernathy

Shirley Chisholm, former Congresswoman from NY

Maxine Waters, Congresswoman from LA

Barbara Mikulski, US Senator from Maryland

Tim Holden, Congressman from Pennsylvania

Cardinal Theordore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, DC

Saul Alinsky, father of community organizing

Saul Bellow, novelist

Ronald Reagan (double major in sociology and economics)

Emily Balch, 1946 Nobel Peace Prize winner (a social worker and social reformer)

Francis Perkins, social reformer and former Secretary of Labor

Richard Barajas, Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court

Arts:

Saul Bellow, novelist

Regis Philbin, no-talent TV host

Dan Aykroyd, actor/Blues Brother

Robin Williams, actor/comedian

Paul Shaffer, bandleader on David Letterman Show (and before that, Saturday Night Live)

Dinah Shore, singer

Ruth Westheimer, the “sex doctor”

Sports:

Alonzo Mourning, Miami Heat

Bryant Stith, Boston Celtics

Brian Jordan, Atlanta Braves

Joe Theisman, NFL quarterback

Eric Bjornson, Dallas Cowboys

Bobby Taylor, Eagles cornerback

Ahmad Rashad, Sportscaster