This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
The Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association presented Barry Wellman '63 with the Outstanding Lifetime Contribution Award. The University of Toronto, where Wellman is professor of sociology, held the conference “Social Structure in a Changing World: Presentations in Honour of Barry Wellman” in April.
Wellman recently received a National Science Foundation grant for a study with the National Geographic Society on how Internet use affects social integration. He has authored nearly 300 articles, has given lectures and workshops in 17 countries, and is on the editorial board of 11 journals.
Wellman founded the professional society in his field, the International Network for Social Network Analysis, in 1976. He coedited Social Structures: A Network Approach, which was named by the International Sociological Association as one of the “Books of the Century.” He is a principal founder of a new sociology journal, City and Community, which is slated to debut next year.
At Lafayette, Wellman graduated magna cum laude with a degree in history. He was captain of the undefeated 1962 GE College Bowl Team. He received a doctorate from Harvard University.
Wellman appreciated being taken seriously by Lafayette faculty. “The care in mentoring my work by almost all of my professors taught me how to edit and improve my work analytically,” he says. “They encouraged me to believe that the work I was doing in classes was important, and that my future work would be important too.”