The nomination deadline for the Doris Wilkinson Faculty Leadership Award is April 15, 2025.

HISTORY

The Doris Wilkinson Faculty Leadership Award was established in 2015 and is awarded annually to an outstanding faculty member who has exercised an extensive leadership role within the SSSP and other professional societies and within the larger community. The award winner will receive a plaque of recognition. In her 2001 Social Problems article, “Making History: A Personal Narrative of My Presidential Year,” Doris chronicles her activities in the Society during the early 1970s, when SSSP’s programs and members offered her a refuge during a restless period within the American Sociological Association (ASA). She was a participant-observer of the events that occurred when Sociologists for Women in Society and the Association of Black Sociologists were seen as “outsiders within” and sought “meaningful” entry and participation in the ASA. Doris turned her observation into action and became one of the leading voices in bringing change to the society and sociology as a discipline. Her leadership was consistent with the Society’s mission. Past winners of this award can be found here.

CRITERIA

The award will be given annually to an outstanding faculty member who has exercised an extensive leadership role within the SSSP and other professional societies and within the larger community. The award was named in honor of Doris Wilkinson, who turned observation into action and became one of the leading voices in bringing change to the society and sociology as a discipline.

The Doris Wilkinson Faculty Leadership Award will be given to a scholar who effectively:

1.  Addresses social issues of contemporary public importance;
2.  Brings a deepened public understanding to these issues;
3.  Advances social understanding of leadership for change within the larger society;
4.  Proposes courses of action to effect that change.

NOMINATIONS

Only current members of SSSP can nominate someone who is or was a past member of SSSP. Those who wish to nominate someone must complete a brief online nomination form that asks for the name of the nominee, the name of the individual submitting the nomination and their phone number and email address. Note that letters of support do not have to be from current SSSP members.

All online nominations must be accompanied by a detailed letter of nomination and 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, as well as letters of support from colleagues. We request that all information be included in a single document. Please use the “Upload a file” section at the bottom of the online nomination form to upload your supporting documentation.

All online nominations must be submitted no later than April 15, 2025. The 2025 award will be presented at the 75th Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, August 8-10, 2025.

Please address all questions to:

Dr. Sarah Adeyinka-Skold, Chair
Doris Wilkinson Faculty Leadership Award Committee
Sarah.Adeyinka-Skold@lmu.edu