Department of Sociology
Famous Sociology Majors
Adapted from information obtained 9-04-08 from ASA website.
Though your parents may not believe it, there are thousands of accomplished people with BA, MA, and PhD degrees in sociology, who are not necessarily Sociologists with a capital “S.” Below is a list of just a few, found by Peter Dreier, Occidental College, for his commencement address to the 2001 department of sociology graduating class of the University of Oregon.
Politics
- Wellington Webb, mayor of Denver
- Brett Schundler, mayor of Jersey City
- Annette Strauss, former mayor of Dallas
- Rev. Martin Luther King
- Roy Wilkins, former head of NAACP
- Rev. Jesse Jackson
- Rev. Ralph Abernathy
- Shirley Chisholm, former Congresswoman from NY
- Maxine Waters, Congresswoman from LA
- Barbara Mikulski, US Senator from Maryland
- Tim Holden, Congressman from Pennsylvania
- Cardinal Theordore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, DC
- Saul Alinsky, father of community organizing
- Saul Bellow, novelist
- Ronald Reagan (double major in sociology and economics)
- Emily Balch, 1946 Nobel Peace Prize winner (a social worker and social reformer)
- Francis Perkins, social reformer and former Secretary of Labor
- Richard Barajas, Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court
Arts
- Saul Bellow, novelist
- Regis Philbin, no-talent TV host
- Dan Aykroyd, actor/Blues Brother
- Robin Williams, actor/comedian
- Paul Shaffer, bandleader on David Letterman Show (and before that, Saturday Night Live)
- Dinah Shore, singer
- Ruth Westheimer, the “sex doctor”
Sports
- Alonzo Mourning, Miami Heat
- Bryant Stith, Boston Celtics
- Brian Jordan, Atlanta Braves
- Joe Theisman, NFL quarterback
- Eric Bjornson, Dallas Cowboys
- Bobby Taylor, Eagles cornerback
- Ahmad Rashad, Sportscaster
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