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History & Selected Achievements

Early Department History

1904Howard W. Odum, a Georgia native, graduated from Emory College with a BA in Classics. He later received a PhD in psychology at Clark University in 1909 and a PhD in sociology at Columbia University in 1910. Emory Sociology’s roots in studying Culture, Social Inequality, and Social Psychology may be traced back to this point.
1919Howard W. Odum helped organize the relocation of Emory from Oxford to Atlanta and became the first Dean of Emory College. Dean Odum served as professor of educational sociology and probably offered the first sociology course at Emory in 1919. Dr. Odum later transitioned to University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, founding its School of Public Welfare, its Department of Sociology, its Institute for Research in Social Science, and the journal Social Forces, all in 1920s, before serving as the President of American Sociological Association in 1930.
1920Department of Sociology was founded in the Candler School of Theology. Prof. Hugh H. Harris first taught sociology in Candler.
1924Comer McDonald Woodward was recruited to head the new sociology department in Emory College and serve as the first Dean of Men, a position he held until 1942. He was appointed as the first regular professor of sociology at Emory College in 1925.
1927The sociology department in the Candler School was consolidated into Emory College.
1930Margaret Jarman Hagood graduated from Emory with a master’s degree. She later became the President of the American Population Association in 1955.
1958The Sociology PhD program was established.
1977The Study Abroad in London program was initiated and became one of the longest continuing study abroad programs at Emory.
1978The anthropology part of the department spun off as an anthropology department.
1983The Southeastern Undergraduate Sociology Symposium (SEUSS) started and became one of the longest continuing undergraduate research programs at Emory.

AI Boskoff, an emeritus professor of Emory Sociology, once wrote a reflective memo in 1994, which informatively divided the early history of the department into four periods, including the Dark Age (1930s-1958), the Take-off Period (1960-1971), “The Doldrums” (1971-1985), and the Strong Renewal (1986-1994). Now, Emory Sociology has certainly entered a new era!

Department Leadership

Chair

  • Weihua An (2025-)
  • Timothy Dowd (2015-21; 2022-24)
  • Karen Hegtvedt (2009-15; 2021-22; 2024-25)
  • Robert Agnew (2006-09)
  • John Boli (2000-06)
  • Terry Boswell (1999-2000)
  • Richard Rubinson (1991-99)
  • Alex Hicks (1988-91)
  • Linda Molm (1985-88)
  • John Doby (1980-85)
  • William Pendleton (1976-80)
  • Abbott Ferriss (1970-76)

Director of Graduate Studies

  • Irene Browne (2003-07; 2022-27)
  • Ellen Idler (2017-22)
  • Richard Rubinson (2014-17)
  • Frank Lechner (2011-14)
  • Cathryn Johnson (2008-11)
  • Karen Hegtvedt (1996-2000; 2003-04)
  • Terry Boswell (1992-96)
  • Samar Mitra (1985-92)

Director of Undergraduate Studies

  • Ju Hyun Park (2026-29)
  • Jeff Mullis (2014-26, 2001-09)
  • Tracy Scott (2009-14)
  • Cathryn Johnson (1997-2001)
  • Frank Lechner (1990-97)
  • Robert Agnew (1985-90)

ASA & Other Leadership Positions

ASA Council

  • Alyasah Sewell, 2021-24

ASA Section Chairs

  • Aging and Life Course (Ellen Idler, 2012-15)
  • Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity (Bin Xu, 2022-25)
  • Methodology (Weihua An, 2027-29)
  • Political Sociology (Alex Hicks, 1998-2001)
  • Social Psychology (Karen Hegtvedt, 2007-10; Cathryn Johnson 2014-17)
  • Sociology of Culture (Tim Dowd, 2013-16)
  • Sociology of Education (Richard Rubinson, 1988-91)
  • Sociology of Emotions (Cathryn Johnson, 2009-12; Karen Hegtvedt 2014-17)

ASA Section Founder

  • Global and Transnational Sociology, John Boli (2008-09)

Leadership Positions in Related Professional Organizations

  • American Society of Criminology, President, Robert Agnew, 2012-13
  • Georgia Sociological Association, President, Robert Agnew, 1990-91
  • International Society for Justice Research, President, Karen Hegtvedt, 2023-25
  • National Association for the Practice of Anthropology, President, Rachel Hall-Clifford, 2022-24
  • Southern Sociological Society, Vice-President, Irene Browne, 2022-25
  • Southern Sociological Society, President, John Doby, 1969-70; Alvin Boskoff, 1970-71; Abbott Ferriss, 1986-87 

University and College Leadership Positions

  • Emory University Faculty Senate, President, John Boli, 1999-2000; Frank Lechner, 1993-94; Kathryn Yount, 2014-15
  • Emory College Faculty Senate, President, Karen Hegtvedt, 2018-19
  • Emory James T. Laney Graduate School, Senior Associate Dean, Cathryn Johnson, 2011-21

Editorship of Major Journals

  • Journal of Historical Sociology (Editor: Roberto Franzosi)
  • PLOS One (Associate Editor: Ellen Idler)
  • Poetics (Editor: Tim Dowd)
  • Social Justice Research (Associate Editor: Karen Hegtvedt)
  • Social Psychology Quarterly (Co-Editors: Karen Hegtvedt, Cathryn Johnson)
  • Sociological Methodology (Editor, Weihua An)
  • Sociological Theory (Co-Editor, Bin Xu)
  • Socio-Economic Review, (Co-Editor: Alex Hicks)

Faculty Awards & Honors

  • Robert Agnew, Southern Sociological Society Roll of Honor, 2015
  • Robert Agnew, American Society of Criminology, Edwin H. Sutherland Award, 2015
  • Robert Agnew, Georgia Sociological Society, Georgia Sociologist of the Year, 2003
  • Delores Aldridge, ASA Cox, Johnson, Frazier Lifetime Achievement Award, 2010
  • Weihua An, ASA Methodology Section, The Leo Goodman Award for early career contributions to sociological methodology, 2026
  • Karida Brown, book awards for Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia (2018) from ASA sections Racial and Ethnic Minorities; Sociology of Culture; Race, Gender, and Class
  • Timothy Dowd, Emory College Emory Williams Teaching Award, 2013
  • Karen Hegtvedt, ASA Social Psychology Section, Cooley-Mead Lifetime Achievement Award, 2023
  • Ellen Idler, ASA Aging and Life Course Section, Matilda White Riley Distinguished Scholar, 2020
  • Ellen Idler, ASA Medical Sociology Section, The Leo G. Reeder Award for distinguished contribution to medical sociology, 2027
  • Cathryn Johnson, Emory College Emory Williams Teaching Award, 2002
  • Cathryn Johnson, Emory College George P. Cuttino Award for Excellence in Mentoring, 2011
  • Frank Lechner, Emory College Emory Williams Teaching Award, 2005
  • Alyasah Sewell, Georgia Sociological Society, Georgia Sociologist of the Year, 2021
  • Tracy Scott, Emory College Emory Williams Teaching Award, 2018
  • Bin Xu, book award for The Politics of Compassion: The Sichuan Earthquake and Civic Engagement in China (2017) from ASA section Sociology of Culture
  • Kathryn Yount, Emory James T. Laney Graduate School, Eleanor Main Graduate Faculty Mentor Award, 2023
  • Kathryn Yount, Emory University Marion V. Creekmore Award for Internationalization, 2022