The University Record, October 1, 2001

Patricia Gurin—Distinguished University Professorship

Gurin (Photo by Martin Vloet, U-M Photo Services)
Throughout her career, Patricia Gurin has pioneered important fields of inquiry in social psychology and has pursued a number of research paths concurrently. Drawing on her comprehensive knowledge of psychology, sociology, economics, demography, and political science, she was among the first to insist that class, race, and gender be taken into account when considering the sources and consequences of social identity. Her research demonstrating the benefits of early exposure to diversity, which is cited widely by scholars and by the courts, represents an elegant integration of scholarship, pedagogy and exemplary service to the academy.

Professor Gurin, who joined the Michigan faculty in 1966, also is an outstanding teacher and mentor and has created a variety of courses, including one of the first about gender consciousness and social change. She helped develop the race and ethnicity requirement in the LS&A and has supported other pedagogical innovations, including the creation of joint doctoral programs in social work and social sciences, and in psychology and women’s studies.

As chair of the Department of Psychology, she has vigorously promoted faculty development, introducing a variety of recruitment and mentoring strategies that have resulted in a more diverse faculty with broader interdisciplinary interests.

Professor Gurin provided strong leadership as interim dean of LS&A and has assumed other important administrative roles at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, the Women’s Studies Program, and the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. She has served on many national committees, including National Institute of Mental Health review panels, the National Commission for Working Women and

the Rockefeller Foundation Advisory Committee on Minority Single-Headed Households.

Her innovative work has led to her appointment as a Resident Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation and to her continuing appointment to Michigan’s Society of Fellows. She also has received the Michigan Association of Governing Boards’ Distinguished Faculty Award and several teaching awards, including the Arthur Thurnau Professorship.

For her pioneering work in psychology; her successful efforts to build a more inclusive and more diverse University; and her visionary leadership, the University proudly recognizes Patricia Gurin as the Nancy Cantor Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies.