PSC Honors

This biennial award recognizes early career achievement in population studies and demography. It honors outstanding innovative scholarly achievements of population professionals who have attained their highest professional degree within the previous 20 years.

Sheldon Danziger, H. J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008. He plans to write a book that will evaluate the changing views about the causes of poverty. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment.

Paul Christopher Johnson, associate professor of history, Afroamerican and African Studies, director of the Doctoral Program in Anthropology and History, was awarded a 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship for his project: "To Be Possessed: 'Religion' and the Purification of Spirits." Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment.

The University of Michigan has selected Yu Xie as a Distinguished University Professor, one of U-M’s highest academic honors. This designation is given to recognize exceptional scholarly and/or creative achievement, reputation in the field, and superior teaching skills. It is a lifetime title.

Mansoor Moaddel’s book, Islamic Modernism, Nationalism, and Fundamentalism, was named co-winner of the 2007 Distinguished Book Award by the Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association.

Elizabeth Bruch’s article “Neighborhood Choice and Neighborhood Change,” her senior authored (with Rob Mare) study that appeared last year in the American Journal of Sociology has recently received 3 awards for scholarly excellence: the 2007 Robert Park Best Article Award from the Community and Urban Sociology Section of the ASA; the 2007 James Coleman Outstanding Publication Award from the Rationality and Society Section of the ASA; and the “Gould Prize,” awarded annually by the American Journal of Sociology for the best article in the last two years that embodies the scholarly ideals of the late Roger Gould.

Bob Willis, a Fellow of SOLE since 2004, is serving as president of the Society for 2007.

House was part of a group of 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 12 countries elected to the NAS in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

The Society of Labor Economists recognized Bound and Stafford for their “contributions of unusual distinction to the field.” New SOLE Fellows are nominated and elected by previous Fellows.

Professor Pamela Smock has agreed to join the Office of the Vice President for Research as Associate Vice President for Research - Social Sciences and Humanities, effective February 1, 2007. Professor Smock's responsibilities in this position will include assisting OVPR in its administration and oversight of the research and creative activity in the social sciences and humanities arena, providing leadership for OVPR in new initiatives, oversight and involvement with OVPR units where appropriate, and serving as a member of the senior OVPR administrative staff.

Professor Albert Hermalin was honored for his tremendous contributions to the field of Global Health and to the University of Michigan's teaching mission throughout his career at the M-Global Health and Research Training / Minority Health International Research Training reception and poster session on November 9.

Ecologist Jianguo (Jack) Liu named a 2006 Guggenheim Fellow.

Visiting Professor Ron Lesthaeghe has recently received the Ernest-John Solvay prize. This is the most prestigious academic prize given in Belgium given every 5 years by the Belgian Research Foundation - Flanders. November 22, 2005.

Professor Felicia LeClere, who will be joining PSC in September 2005, has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of NICHD's Population Sciences Subcommittee Study Section. She will be serving a four year term beginning November 2005.

Ren Farley received from the Michigan Sociological Association The Charles Horton Cooley Memorial Award for distinguished contribution to Sociology in Michigan. October 2005.

Sheldon Danziger was named Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, by President Coleman and the U-M Regents.

Professor Pam Smock has recently accepted an invitation to serve as a member of NICHD's Population Sciences Subcommittee Study Section. Pam will be serving a four year term beginning July 1, 2005 and ending June 30, 2009.

James Lee's recent book, with Tommy Bengtsson and Cameron Campbell, "Life under Pressure: Mortality and Living Standards in Europe and Asia, 1700-1900" (MIT Press 2004) has won the American Sociological Association, Asian Section book award for 2005.

Professor Myron Gutmann has accepted a two-year term as the President of COSSA (Consortium of Social Science Associations).

Professor John Bound has been named a Fellow of the Econometric Society. PSC appreciates the recognition that it reflects on him, the Center, and the larger university. "The Econometric Society is the most prestigious learned society in the field of economics, with a world-wide membership. Its main object is to promote studies that aim at a unification of the theoretical-quantitative and empirical-quantitative approach to economic problems and that are penetrated by constructive and rigorous thinking similar to that which has come to dominate in the natural sciences. It operates as a purely scientific organization, without any political, social, financial or nationalistic allegiance or bias."

Professor Yu Xie has been elected to the Academia Sinica, the most prominent academic institution in the Republic of China. Yu Xie is the first elected member of Academia Sinica who was born in Mainland China after 1949.

Research Professor Ren Farley has accepted an invitation from the National Institutes of Health to serve as a member of the Social Sciences and Population Studies Study Section. This is an important appointment that reflects the high esteem and accomplishments of Dr. Farley in the demographic profession. It also reflects a substantial level of service by Ren as he will be a regular reviewer of NIH proposals. May 25, 2004.

Jeff Morenoff is the 2004 winner of the Ruth Shonle Cavan Young Scholar Award, presented by the American Society of Criminology. The award, which recognizes "outstanding contributions to the discipline of criminology " by a scholar in the first years of his or her career, will be presented to Jeff at the ASC's annual meeting.

Professor James Lee has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. It will support a joint project with Cameron Campbell (one of PSC's alumni who also received a Guggenheim fellowship) concerning Social and Family Change in Liaoning, 1850-2000.

Professor Yu Xie has been elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The American Academy is one of the nation's oldest honorary societies, and election as a fellow is one of the highest academic honors.

Bob Willis has been elected president of the Society for Labor Economics Meetings. He has also been elected as one of the "founding " group of Fellows of the Society of Labor Economics.

Benjamin Keys, a PSC Student Associate in Economics, has been awarded the prestigious four-year Jacob K. Javits Fellowship. The Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, provides financial assistance to students of superior ability, as demonstrated by their achievements and exceptional promise, to study at the doctoral and master's level in selected fields of the arts, humanities, and social sciences. John Bound, Professor of Economics and Research Professor and Coordinator of the Economic Demography Program at the Population Studies Center, is Ben's advisor.

Marshall Weinberg Research Fellowships have been awarded in 2003 to PSC trainees Zhen Zeng, to support her research on immigrant economic assimilation in the U.S., and Justin Thomas, to continue his research on status homogamy in South Africa. Yu Xie serves as PSC mentor for both students.

Pamela Smock has been named associate director of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR), the world's largest academic survey and research organization.

Yu Xie, Professor of Sociology and Statistics, was selected from among 2,800 artists, scholars, and scientists to receive a 2002 Guggenheim Fellowship. This award is based on distinguished past achievements and exceptional promise for future achievements. Dr. Xie received the award for his work on economic reform and social inequality in contemporary China.

Professor Robert Willis was awarded the PAA's 2002 Mindel Sheps Award for outstanding contributions to mathematical demography, demographic methodology, and the modeling and analysis of population data. This is a biennial award that is jointly sponsored by the PAA and the University of North Carolina School of Public Health.

The 2002 International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) Laureate Award has been granted this year to Professor Ronald Freedman,the founder of the Population Studies Center, for his outstanding contributions to knowledge in the field of social demography, to our understanding of reproductive behaviour, to the training of numerous demographers, and to the activities of the Union.

Professor John Knodel was elected by the Population Association of America to serve as the organization's Vice-President for 2002.

Professor Arland Thornton received a prestigious Merit Award from NICHD in July 2001. The award is given to "selected investigators who have demonstrated superior competence and outstanding productivity during their previous research endeavors. " Dr. Thornton received this award for his new NICHD project entitled "Determinants of Marriage and Childbearing Attitudes". The project will use the Intergenerational Panel Study of Parents and Children, the National Survey of Families and Households, and the National Survey of Children to study how various aspects of the parental family and of the experiences of young people influence the young people's attitudes and values toward marriage and childbearing.

Professor Reynolds Farley was awarded the Robert P. Lapham Award, given biennially in recognition of contributions that blend research with the application of demographic knowledge to policy issues. Dr. Farley accepted the award at the PAA Annual Meeting in Washington DC on March 30, 2001.

Professor Emeritus Eva Mueller was honored for pioneering work in economics with the Carolyn Shaw Bell Award on January 6, 2001. The award is given annually by the American Economics Association's Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession to recognize an individual who has furthered the status of women in the economics profession, through example, achievements, mentoring, or increasing our understanding of how women can advance in the economics profession.

Professor Arland Thornton was elected by the Population Association of America to serve as the organization's President for 2001. Dr. Thornton continues a long tradition of PSC leadership within PAA.