VOLUME 33 JANUARY 2005 NUMBER 1 ASA Is 100 Years Old This is the first of a series of articles commemorating ASA’s attic,” so to speak, and have rummaged planning and development. After all, as centennial year. around the archives—locating the Hillsman states, “Sociologists do under- “skeletons in the closet” and the histori- stand the significance of any organization cal “ASA baby photos”—from ASA’s being adaptive enough to survive for 100 100th anniversary of ASA’s founding. past 100 years of history. They plan to years, and the leadership and many The beginning of a new year is often This year will be the occasion for share it all with the membership during members are fully engaged in helping us a time of reflection and brings the celebrations and other commemorations this year. It’s a lot of material, though document and exhibit our historical promise of renewal. For members of the of this historic milestone. admittedly, and thankfully, not everything legacy in 2005.” Association and for sociology in general, ASA staff and historically minded will be shared. But much of it will find a however, 2005 has a very special and members recently ascended to “ASA’s home eventually on ASA’s homepage Activities & Meeting significant meaning because it marks the focused on the ASA The Association plans an exciting year centennial, which will be of activities and events in honor of the unveiled in early 2005. Association’s centennial. Publications “Sociologists, we’ve highlighting the Association and Reflecting on ASA’s learned in these last few sociology’s past, an enhanced ASA Centennial Year, 2005 years, are not an organiza- website featuring historical records, tionally sentimental lot,” information on a fall Capitol Hill commented ASA Execu- reception, the ASA Centennial Store on At this time 100 years ago . at about tive Officer Sally Hillsman the ASA website at <www.cafepress the time that the Wright brothers flew as she contemplated the .com/asoca/375317>, and a wide variety the first powered aircraft, the American Sociological Society was planning efforts for the centennial. of products, and instructional and also off to a flying start as a newly formed association (1905). Sociologists are too savvy about the unique research resources all are being 75 years ago . while many American families’ incomes dropped by importance of the many other vari- prepared or planned in celebration of 40% due to the Great Depression, the ASA published Publications of ables—besides contrived units of time— ASA’s 100th birthday. the American Sociological Society, which included annual proceed- that influence society and behavior. ASA’s centennial will be a focus of the ings, papers and abstracts of the Annual Meeting, membership list, “They are not enamored of arbitrary 100th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in annual program and the Yearbook of the Section on Rural Sociology timeframes but rather are focused on August, 13-16, 2005. The 2005 Program (1930). empirically significant durations,” she Committee’s Centennial Subcommittee, 50 years ago . when Disneyland opened its gates in Anaheim, the said. chaired by Caroline Persell, and includ- Association opened its doors to a new journal, Sociometry, received But even temporally sophisticated ing Troy Duster, Patricia Hill Collins, Jill from J.L. Moreno (1955). sociologists will want to adjust their time Quadagno, and Sally Hillsman, is at 25 years ago . as women began to account for the majority of perspective for this next year, as ASA college students in the United States, the ASA awarded its first members enjoy the fruits of months of See Centennial, page 6 Distinguished Scholarship Award to Robert K. Merton (1980). Soaring: Celebrating Matilda White Riley (1911–2004) by Ronald P. Abeles, activities. What an introduction it was! Matilda’s life or Jack’s without mention- developed and applied sophisticated National Institutes of Health The subject matter was completely new; ing the other. They were childhood sampling and survey techniques based the committee members were world- sweethearts in Maine and spent their upon her sociological methods and Matilda and John (Jack) Riley renowned; the meals were lives together until Jack’s knowledge. adopted me into their extensive family of delicious, and the fellow- death in 2002. Jack informed We heard of Matilda’s productive scholars, scientists, co-workers, profes- ship was congenial. Matilda me of Matilda’s life and career at Rutgers University, progressing sors, students, and friends in June 1974. and Jack welcomed my wife accomplishments, and Matilda from Research Specialist to University At the time I didn’t know that my first and me warmly to their recounted Jack’s. Together Professor (1950-73), where she authored acquaintance with them at this second dinner table, and there they regaled their listeners a research textbook that introduced session of the Social Science Research began 30 years in their about life at Harvard, where combining theory and methods and Council (SSRC) Committee on Work and “convoy of social support.” Jack was a graduate student where she began her scholarly interest in Personality in the Middle Years (chaired During that dinner and and she was a research age and aging. She continued her by Orville G. Brim, Jr.) would change the the subsequent five years of assistant (1932-33) after pioneering work in the sociology of direction of my professional and per- SSRC conversations, the graduating from Radcliffe aging at the Russell Sage Foundation sonal life. I had just joined the SSRC’s outline of Matilda and College (magna cum laude) (1974-77), based on her classic volumes staff, and this committee session was my Jack’s joint lives emerged. It and marrying Jack, both in on the age-stratification paradigm and introduction to the Council and its is impossible to speak of 1931. They serenaded us auf aging society perspective. They spoke of Deutsch with folksongs from their “final” career and geographical their 1933 study-year at the University of move back to Mere Point in Brunswick, Vienna and their bicycle tour of Ger- Maine, where Matilda became the first Nominations Invited for many. Jack reminisced about their canoe woman full professor (1973-81) at Jack’s trip with Freud’s son, who schemed to alma mater, Bowdoin College. 2005 ASA Section Awards strand Jack on shore in order to be alone They entertained us with stories of with lovely Matilda! They recounted camping trips with their two children, ASA’s 43 sections honor work in their respective specialty areas through their misadventures of the early ASA including the time they became snow- annual awards made to acknowledge noteworthy articles, books, dissertations, annual meetings when Matilda was its bound in the Grand Tetons! They career achievements, and special contributions. The winners of the 2004 Section first Executive Officer (1949-1960) and expressed pride in the accomplishments awards were featured in the November 2004 issue of Footnotes newsletter (p. 10). she carried its records in a box from her of their son, John W. Riley, III, as a Because of its large size, the 2005 Call for Nominations for ASA Section awards home to the meetings. They described physician, and their daughter, Lucy is posted online at <www.asanet.org/governance/secawdnom05.html>. Nearly all Matilda’s experiences as the Chief Sallick, as an artist. (Later they shared of the 43 sections are planning awards for this 2005 award cycle, bringing the total Consulting Economist for the U.S. War stories of their grandchildren and great- number of section awards to nearly 100. Award presentations will occur at the Production Board (1942-1944) and grandchildren!) They made us laugh 2005 ASA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Please see the call for nomina- alluded imprecisely to Jack’s wartime with the tale of being locked out of their tions online and consider whom you would like to nominate among your service in the OSS (Office of Strategic rented home at Stanford while skinny- colleagues and students whose contributions should have the special visibility Services). We learned of Matilda’s dipping one night. In the buff, gallant accorded by a section award. success in establishing, with her father, Jack had to ask a neighbor for the house Anyone interested in a printed call for nominations, can contact the Executive the pioneering Market Research Com- Office at [email protected] or call (202) 383-9005 x330. pany of America (1939-49), where she See Soaring, page 10 PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 2 JANUARY 2005 FOOTNOTES The Executive Officer’s Column In This Issue . On Being 100 It is a once-in-a-century privilege to be the ASA Executive in office at an historic moment—the 100th anniversary of this organization. For 100 years, the Association has stood for the scientific study of, and application of knowledge to, social Lipset Lecture on organization and institutions. As a learned society and profes- sional association, the ASA has helped build and support a Democracy membership and a discipline that has contributed richly to our society and our world through its scholarship and in intellec- National Endowment for Democracy tual collaboration (and creative tension) with sister disciplines’ names prestigious lectureship after studying behavior, culture, and society through the economic, political, psychologi- Seymour Martin Lipset. cal, cognitive, and natural sciences. As tempting as it is to offer my own views, as a 3 member of this Association for almost 40 years, of where our discipline is, I will leave it to the many other sociologists and colleagues who will gather in Philadelphia in BAs and Beyond August at the ASA 100th Annual Meeting to rise vigorously to the challenge of ASA’s newest research project sets President Troy Duster’s theme—Comparative Perspectives, Competing Explanations: Accounting for the Rising and Declining Significance of Sociology—to explore these out to study what recent graduates issues.