The deadline to submit nominations for the 2024 Lee Founders Award was April 15, 2024. Check back this fall for the 2025 nomination procedures. See below for information on award eligibility and a list of past winners.

HISTORY

Established in 1981, this award is made in recognition of significant lifetime achievements demonstrating a devotion to the ideals of the founders of the Society and especially to the humanist tradition of Alfred McClung Lee and Elizabeth Briant Lee. The award carries a stipend of $500. Past winners of this award can be found here.

CRITERIA

1. The nominee must have been an active member of the Society for some years prior to receiving the award.

2. The nominee must have made significant achievements embodying the ideals of the founders of the Society. These achievements may be in the areas of scholarly research, teaching, or service leading to the betterment of human life. Nominees for the award must have demonstrated a commitment to social action programs that promote social justice.

3. The nominee’s achievements should reflect the humanistic tradition of sociology, as exemplified in the contributions of Alfred McClung Lee and Elizabeth Briant Lee, for whom the award is named.

4. The nominee’s achievements may be expressed in a body of work that provides understanding and insight for practical application and the development of social conflict, including one or more of the following:
   
   a. Studies of peace and war, ethnic and/or racial conflict and social movements.
   b. The role of mass media as related to social problems.
   c. The role of propaganda in the creation of and the persistence of social problems.
   d. The systematic study of social inequality (for example, problems of poverty, discrimination, racism, sexism, and unequal distribution of wealth).

5. The achievements should include substantial community service at the local, state, and/or national level.

6. It is assumed that the above achievements will have been accomplished by the nominees over a distinguished career and that they will reflect a long-term commitment to the ideals of the Lees.

NOMINATION

Members of the Society may nominate one or more persons for the award. Members of the Lee Founders Award Committee are encouraged to nominate. Nominations are eligible for the year of the nomination and the two following years, should the nominee not be selected for the award the first year.

All online nominations must be accompanied by supporting evidence sufficiently detailed for the committee to render a decision (e.g., a resume; additional supporting description of the nominee’s work demonstrating that the contributions meet the criteria for nomination). Please include supporting information not covered in a resume. List names of colleagues who would write supporting letters upon the request of the committee or include letters of support with your nomination.

The nomination deadline for the 2024 award was April 15, 2024. The 2024 award will be presented at the 74th Annual Meeting in Montréal, Canada, August 9-11, 2024.

Please address all questions to: