Newswise — WASHINGTON, DC, July 24, 2013 — Paula England, a Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of Graduate Studies at New York University, has been elected President of the American Sociological Association (ASA) and Cecilia Menjivar, Cowden Distinguished Professor at Arizona State University’s Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, has been voted Vice President. They will serve as President and Vice President-Elect beginning in August 2013, and become President and Vice President in August 2014. England and Menjivar will succeed the University of Pennsylvania’s Annette Lareau and Indiana University-Bloomington’s Brian Powell respectively.

“Being ASA President is an exciting prospect because my fellow sociologists are a fascinating group,” said England, who will chair the 2015 Program Committee that will shape the 2015 ASA Annual Meeting in Chicago. “They do research and teaching on crucial public issues as varied as why people end up rich or poor, how much housework husbands do, how businesses make decisions, and how cultural norms about sexuality change.”

England, whose research interests include changing family patterns, sexual behavior, contraception, gender, and labor markets, said she would like to help sociologists get their research better known by the public during her year as President. “I also hope that, through shaping the program of the Annual Meeting, I can, in a small way, contribute to making the quality of our thinking and research better,” said England, who received her PhD from the University of Chicago and has taught at Stanford University, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Arizona.

As Vice President, Menjivar will assist England and oversee the committee charged with nominating ASA officers and council members. “It is a great honor to have been elected and I look forward to serving the membership and to working with President-Elect England, the ASA Executive Office, and the Council,” said Menjivar, whose areas of specialization include immigration, gender and violence, and Latin America.

Menjivar said she will bring institutional experience to the ASA. “During my time as an ASA member, I have served on Council as well as on various committees and sections,” said Menjivar, who earned her PhD from the University of California-Davis; has held fellowships with the RAND Corporation and University of California-Berkeley; and has conducted research in a number of U.S. cities and abroad.

“These experiences hopefully will serve me well in my role as Vice President,” she said.

During their distinguished careers, both England and Menjivar have held a variety of leadership positions and have been dedicated to advancing the ASA and the discipline of sociology as a whole.

England has served as Chair of the ASA Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology as well as Chair of the ASA Section on the Sociology of Family. Menjivar has been a Member-at-Large on the ASA Council, Chair of the ASA Section on Latino/Latina Sociology, a member of the ASA Nominations Committee, and an ASA International Migration Section council member.

Some of England’s other leadership positions include: Editor of the American Sociological Review, Chair of the Population Association of America’s Publications Committee, and a member of its Board of Directors. Menjivar has also been Co-Chair of the Latin American Studies Association’s Central American Section and Chair of the Society for the Study of Social Problems’ Committee on Committees.

In addition, both England and Menjivar have won many awards during their notable careers. England’s awards include the Distinguished Research Career Award from the ASA’s Section on the Sociology of Family and the ASA’s Jesse Bernard Award for career contributions to scholarship on gender. She was also elected Francis Perkins Fellow at the American Academy of Political and Social Science and Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.

Menjivar’s awards include the ASA Section on Latino/Latina Sociology’s Julian Samora Distinguished Career Award, the Arizona State University Alumni Association Faculty Achievement Award in Research, and the Eastern Sociological Society’s and the Pacific Sociological Association’s Distinguished Scholarship Award for her book, Enduring Violence Ladina Women's Lives in Guatemala.

“Paula England and Cecilia Menjivar are exceptional scholars and sociologists who have been working on behalf of the Association and the discipline for many years,” said ASA Executive Officer Sally T. Hillsman. “We are delighted that they will be leading the Association and we look forward to working with them to shape the future of our organization.”

###

About the American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (www.asanet.org), founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to serving sociologists in their work, advancing sociology as a science and profession, and promoting the contributions to and use of sociology by society.

This press release was written by Marco Siragusa, ASA Office of Public Affairs and Public Information.