1945‒2023
Paul Goldman passed away unexpectedly on January 5, 2023. He left this world peacefully due to sudden heart failure that may have been associated with Covid-19.
Goldman earned his doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1974. Throughout his academic career, he studied social structure, social change, and hierarchies in organizations of all types, especially PK‒12 public education. Goldman was among the first sociologists to develop critical perspectives in the study of bureaucracies and was part of a group of scholars bringing issues of social class, gender, and race to organizational studies.
He joined the University of Oregon’s faculty in 1977. He became a faculty member of what is now the Educational Policy and Leadership Master of Science Program in 1986, focusing on leadership training, applied research, and school reform. In 2004, Goldman moved to the Educational Leadership Program faculty at Washington State University, Vancouver, as a clinical professor.
Goldman published widely in the educational leadership field, most notably in Educational Administration Quarterly, the Journal of Educational Administration, and the International Journal of Educational Reform. He was central to the creation and impact of the University of Oregon’s flourishing Master of Education in Educational Leadership Program in Canada which thrived throughout his time at the University of Oregon. He worked with colleagues to help school leaders in the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Program link theoretical concepts and research perspectives with their previous leadership training and current experience. He chaired more than 50 doctoral dissertations and over 200 master’s degree capstone research projects, coauthoring 20 refereed presentations and/or articles with students.
After retiring, Goldman continued his commitment to the profession by focusing his energetic spirit on two different academic projects. He worked tirelessly with other colleagues in the creation of the University of Oregon’s Leadership and Policy Mentorship Program, a program supporting junior faculty success in achieving tenure and promotion. He was also instrumental in establishing the national University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) Retirees in Action, a group dedicated to sustaining the mission and implementing goals of UCEA.
He maintained lifelong commitment to social justice in the United States and globally. Goldman visited Vietnam with Volunteers in Asia in 1966, an organization dedicated to bridging cultures through service work. He continued his involvement throughout his life as an active member of the Volunteers in Asia Alumni group, sharing his perspective while interviewing future volunteers and sustaining connections with friends through in person and more, recently, online gatherings.
Colleagues, friends, and students who were fortunate to know him agree that Goldman was a truly good man who brought a sense of integrity, generosity, kindness, and caring to every situation. He was reliable, inclusive, intelligent, optimistic, sensitive, and generous in his support of others.
Mary Jo Neitz, University of Missouri
1939–2023
Family and friends mourn the passing of Howard F. Taylor of Chilmark, MA, on March 21, 2023. Formerly of Princeton, NJ, Taylor was born on July 7, 1939, in Cleveland, OH—a fact about which he was very proud. His mother, Murtis Taylor, was a social worker in Cleveland, memorialized by having the Murtis Taylor Human Services System in Cleveland named for her. His father, Arthur Taylor, was an executive with the Supreme Life Insurance Company of America.
Prior to his retirement in 2007, Taylor was professor of sociology at Princeton University, where he was also one of the early directors of what is now the Department of African American Studies. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hiram College and received his MA and PhD from Yale University. Before his appointment at Princeton in 1973, he also served on the faculty at the Illinois Institute of Technology and at Syracuse University.
He is the author of numerous books and scholarly papers. His books include Balance in Small Groups (Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1970); The IQ Game: A Methodological Inquiry into the Heredity-Environment Controversy (Rutgers University Press 1980); and Sociology: The Essentials, published in eleven editions and coauthored with Margaret Andersen (Cengage). His research on race, heritability, and IQ has been published in numerous scholarly publications, as has his work on Black elite networks. In 1998 he received the Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award from the American Sociological Association, given for outstanding work in the tradition of three outstanding African American scholars, Oliver Cox, Charles S. Johnson, and E. Franklin Frazier. He was a dedicated teacher whose students often stayed in touch long after graduation. Not surprisingly, he received the Princeton President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2000. He served as President of the Eastern Sociological Society, 1996‒97, and is one of the founders of the American Sociological Association’s Minority Opportunity Summer Training program.
In addition to his distinguished career, Taylor was known for his irresistible energy, keen sense of humor, and penetrating mind. He could dance until the wee hours of the morning, enjoyed sitting in as drummer with different bands, delighted in being on the beach, and could throw a great (and frequent) party. His friends describe him as a force in life, someone with irresistible energy, a loving and generous man, a devoted and compassionate friend, and an amazing scholar. Although he loved a good joke, he had a serious mind and could explain the most intricate ideas to anyone. He had the unique ability to fall asleep after a good meal by leaning his head against the restaurant wall! And he could write papers just about anywhere, though they were rarely on time. Most of all, he deeply loved his family and his very large circle of friends.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Patricia Epps Taylor; his daughter, Carla Taylor-Pla; son-in-law, Raymond Pla; granddaughter, Olivia Taylor Pla; brother Bruce Taylor; nieces Lynne and Katy; and five nephews, Matt, Daniel, Taylor, Scott, and Whitney. In addition to his family, he will be missed by his expansive network of friends and colleagues. Both of us considered him a very dear friend.
The family would like to thank his caretakers from the Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard. A celebration of Taylor’s life will be held at a later time. Those wishing to do so may send memorial contributions to the American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program, Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, or Hiram College.
Margaret L. Andersen, University of Delaware; Elijah Anderson, Yale University
