Kenneth Prewitt selected as the 2015 SAGE-CASBS Award Recipient

Former Census Director to be honored at the 2015 Behavioral & Social Science Summit at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University

SAGE and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University (CASBS) are delighted to announce that Dr. Kenneth Prewitt is the 2015 recipient of the SAGE-CASBS award. Established in 2013, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in the understanding and advancement of the behavioral and social sciences as they are applied to pressing social issues.

“Ken Prewitt has expertly bridged the theoretical and the practical, and as a result has made a lasting impact on American government and America’s citizens. He is a forward-thinker, a champion of the federal statistical system, and a pioneer in advancing and advocating for the value of scholarly knowledge,” commented SAGE Founder and Executive Chairman, Sara Miller McCune. “In recent years, he has worked tirelessly to uphold the value of the social and behavioral sciences and in the process bridged another gap, between policymakers and social and behavioral scientists. I am honored to pay tribute to this exceptional social scientist – and good friend -- through the 2015 SAGE-CASBS Award.”

Prewitt is the Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs at Columbia University. Previously, he served as the Director of the United States Census Bureau, where he managed the operations of the 2000 U.S. Census; the Director of the National Opinion Research Center; President of the Social Science Research Council; and Senior Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation. He is presently Chair of the Advisory Board of the Division of Social & Behavioral Sciences and Education, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine; President of the American Academy of Political & Social Sciences; and Vice-Chair of the Board of the independent research institute NORC at the University of Chicago. 

“It is a bit unnerving to be singled out by two of the most innovative social science institutions of our era, both of which awed me a half-century ago – then a naïve graduate student doubtful that I would ever be published by SAGE or earn a residency at CASBS,” Dr. Prewitt remarked after learning of the honor.  “Unnerving, yes, but it is also pure delight to receive this award. It presents an opportunity to reflect on how far the social science enterprise writ large has come.  It is also an incentive to consider fresh worries presented by the landscape we now navigate, one far removed from those innocent ambitions of the 1960’s.  If today’s landscape has no Ivory Towers, what does it offer?  Maybe ICAR research – “Indirectly Consequential Appreciated Retroactively.”

“Ken Prewitt's influence on social science is deep and broad,” said Margaret Levi, the director of CASBS. “His early scholarly work transformed our practices of data collection and analysis and thus our understanding of American politics. His more recent research and thinking contribute to advancing the policy relevance of social and behavioral science world-wide. He works tirelessly to demonstrate to government actors the importance of what social scientists do--and then to get social scientists to present in ways policymakers can hear. His prestigious academic positions and his influential institutional roles tell the story of his significance in the development of contemporary social science and social and political policy.”  

Dr. Prewitt has authored or coauthored more than 100 articles and book chapters as well as ten books, most recently What is Your Race? The Census and Our Flawed Effort to Classify Americans (Princeton, 2013). Among his awards are a Guggenheim Fellowship, honorary degrees from Carnegie Mellon and Southern Methodist University, and a Distinguished Service Award from the New School for Social Research.

Driven by the belief that flourishing educational programs and engaged scholarship create healthy minds and healthy societies, SAGE is the proud funder of the award. Since its founding in 1965, SAGE has been a passionate advocate for the social and behavioral sciences.

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For more information about the 2015 Behavioral and Social Science Summit, presented by CASBS in conjunction with the Social Science Research Council, click here.

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Founded 50 years ago by Sara Miller McCune to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community, SAGE publishes more than 850 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company’s continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC. www.sagepub.com

Founded in 1954, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University is renowned as a place where great minds come together to confront the problems of the day – a place where original, interdisciplinary thinking is the norm. CASBS has hosted generations of distinguished scholars and scientists who, in the spirit of collaboration, form an enduring community that advances our knowledge and changes the way we understand the world. casbs.stanford.edu