Gary Alan Fine to Edit Social Psychology Quarterly
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VOLUME 34 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 NUMBER 7 Gary Alan Fine to Edit Social Psychology Quarterly by Ruth Horowitz and Guillermina (Willie) of Restaurant Work (California 2000) and work. The second is Gary as an academic found them exacting and to the point. Jasso, New York University Moral Tales: The Culture of Mushrooming and his enormous integrity and collegial- Born in New York City, Gary has trav- (Harvard 1998). ity and his strong com- eled across the country in the unfolding Gary Alan Fine, the John Evans Looking over his mitment to the values of of his scholarly life. After Cambridge Professor of Sociology at Northwestern extraordinary 55-page university life. The third, he took his first job at the University University, is an inspired choice for the vita, we were once again as we alluded to above, of Minnesota, then became chair at editorship of Social Psychology Quarterly. suffused with admira- is Gary as connoisseur Georgia before moving to Northwestern Though his appointment is not a sur- tion and delight, as in par excellence of food and University. In between he has visited in prise, some readers may be surprised by all the years we have wine, and especially his Europe, South Africa, and different loca- the varied interests and activities of this known him. One of us youthful annual vigil for tions across this country. This past year creative and prolific sociologist. As the was Gary’s colleague Beaujolais Nouveau. he returned home to New York City as writer of a restaurant blog, Veal Cheeks, he for five years at the Gary took many a Russell Sage Fellow, an appointment describes the birth of his interest in food, University of Minnesota graduate sociology which provided him with ample oppor- “Once long ago in College, I worked where his office was next classes as an undergrad- tunity to research and write his blog. We as a restaurant critic for an entertain- door to Willie’s on the uate at the University of See Fine, page 12 ment weekly in the years before the 11th floor of the Social Pennsylvania, includ- Philadelphia restaurant renaissance….” If Science Tower. The other ing classes with Erving you join him for a meal, you will discover met him as a new PhD at Goffman. In the short all the ingredients in the food, have a the Society for the Study time since receiving his discussion with the wait staff about the of Symbolic Interaction PhD from Harvard in chef and other restaurants, sometimes meetings. Three images 1976, he has published 14,000 and Growing! meet the chef, and have a wide-ranging remain vivid and, indeed, encapsulate too many articles to count and 23 books, conversation about much of social life. much of Gary Fine for both of us. The including several edited volumes. Why As of September 15, ASA member- Now we know the origin of several of first is Gary as scholar and the lucidity mention edited volumes? Gary has ship stands at more than 14,000. his books including Kitchens: The Culture and passion with which he describes his served as an editor of many books and journals and on the editorial boards This is the first time membership of other journals. He reviews for an extensive variety of journals and having has broken that mark since 1974! 101st Annual Meeting Was an Overwhelming Success . received his comments on occasion, we Sociologists Draw Significant Attention in Montréal Robin M. Williams, Jr. (1914–2006): A Sociologist for All Seasons A few years ago Montréal sent its baseball team (The Montréal Expos, for you non-baseball fans) to Washington, DC (to become the now two-year- by Phyllis Moen, University of Minnesota University; and his PhD in 1943 from old Nationals team), and, in return, the DC-based American Sociological Harvard University. He died on June Association, feeling sorry for the baseball-less Montréal, held its 101st 3, 2006, at Irvine Regional Hospital in Annual Meeting in the welcoming city of Montréal, Quebec, Canada, this isdom, defined by the dictionary W Irvine, California; the cause of death was past August. Well, maybe that’s not the real reason the ASA Annual Meeting as the knowledge and experience needed complications from emergency surgery. was held in Montréal sooner than the official Annual Meeting site line-up to make sensible decisions and judg- He was 91. His son, Robin M. III, was had originally scheduled, but it ments, or as the “good sense” shown by born in 1942 and died in 1984. Williams was a most enjoyable and reward- the decisions and judgments made, is no is survived by his beloved wife and life ing meeting, according to the many longer a commonly used word. Perhaps partner, Marguerite; his daughters Nancy participants who complimented the this is because it has so few contem- Elizabeth O’Connor of Santa Fe, NM, ASA leadership, staff, and program porary exemplars. Robin M. Williams, and Susan York Williams of Binghamton, committee. Jr., was the most intelligent, informed, NY; his sister Helen Coble of Despite having their mouth- and wise person I have had Mebane, NC; and grandchil- wash and water bottles confiscated the good fortune to know dren Julia, Tara, Tyler, and by the Transportation Security as a friend and a colleague. Robin O’Connor, as well as Administration before boarding His research fostered under- nieces and nephews. their planes, the Annual Meeting standing of some of the most For much of his long and attendees, for the most part, enjoyed difficult problems of American distinguished career, Robin M. a very smoothly run meeting with society. He devoted much of Williams, Jr., was a member It all began with a bustling registration hall. fascinating panels and several his career and writing to stud- of the Sociology Department big-name speakers. Of course, also ies of intergroup tensions, race at Cornell University (from enjoyable to attendees, most of whom came from areas that had recently relations, war and peace, eth- 1946-85, then emeritus experienced summer heat waves, was the lack of humidity in Montréal. nic conflict, and altruism and 1985-2003). He served as cooperation. Robin’s ability to Robin M. Williams, Jr. Fourth-Highest Registration reason about and understand chair of that Department the complexities of the human from 1956 through 196l, and With 4,974 registered attendees, the 2006 annual meeting had the fourth- condition was rivaled only by his talent was appointed the Henry Scarborough highest registration of any ASA meeting in our 101-year history. The excit- for conveying these intricacies with such Professor of Social Science in 1967. Robin ing plenary sessions drew record crowds, and the fifth floor of the Palais straight-forward clarity that those of us continued full force at Cornell until 2003, des congrès de Montréal the primary meeting hall) bustled with energy less gifted could comprehend. His family, belying his “Professor Emeritus” status, as attendees moved between sessions each day. For the second year in a friends, colleagues, and students would and continued full force at the University row, the very busy meeting offered more than 600 sessions. Yet, for all of all testify to his extraordinary good of California-Irvine (UCI) until his death. the excitement and activity, and relatively late determination that Montréal humor and good sense. By “full force” I mean an active program would host the meeting (see Vantage Point on page 2 of this Footnotes issue Robin Murphy Williams was born on of teaching, research, and publishing. At for background), it ran flawlessly. October 11, 1914, in Hillsborough, NC, his death, Williams was a distinguished Much of the success of this year’s meeting is due to President Cynthia son of Robin M., Sr. (a farmer) and Mabel visiting professor at UCI where he had Fuchs Epstein and the members of the 2006 Program Committee for their (a homemaker). He received his BS in spent much of the last 16 years of his work on building an interesting and diverse program. Credit is also due to 1933 from North Carolina State College; academic career; during the 2006 spring the 2006 ASA Council, session organizers, and participants. his MS in 1935 from North Carolina quarter and just prior to his surgery, he See Annual Meeting, page 9 State and the University of North Carolina; his MA in 1939 from Harvard See Williams, page 10 PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 FOOTNOTES The Executive Officer’s Column In This Issue . Annual Meeting Venues Past, Present, and Future By all accounts, the Montréal Annual Meeting was a great Social Science success, thanks to the hard work of Cynthia Fuchs Epstein and the 2006 Program Committee, and the splendid venues and Celebrated on Capitol hospitality provided by the Montréal convention bureau, the Hill and at NIH hotels and their staff. Preparation for this meeting had its dif- 3 ficult moments, however, as the ASA membership knows. It took OBSSR The ASA is busy on the Hill, over a year for Council, the Executive Office, and the Program from advocating for science Committee to ensure an appropriate location, and our 2006 plan- ning process took us from New York City to San Francisco and funding to celebrating a key Sally T. Hillsman finally to Montréal. NIH anniversary. Playing “musical meeting places” is not typical for the ASA. Meetings of our size require much forward planning and advantageous long-term contracts for space to ensure their success, and ASA has been exceptionally well served in this regard by the strong working relationships we have developed with our long- The Sociology of standing hotel partners.