Lawrence Bobo named dean of social science at Harvard
Lawrence D. Bobo, W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences, has been appointed dean of social science by Claudine Gay, Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Bobo, who currently chairs the department of African and African American Studies, will take the helm Oct. 1. A scholar of sociology and African and African American Studies (AAAS), Bobo has illuminated issues of inequality, politics, and race in his research. He was hired in 1997 to a joint position in sociology and the former Afro-American Studies Department. Last year, Bobo helped Gay, then dean of social science, found the FAS Inequality in America initiative, a multidisciplinary effort to elevate teaching and research in this critical area. “I have deeply valued Larry’s contributions in helping to shape the vision for Inequality in America, in which he has been a leading voice,” said Gay. “He will bring precisely this kind of take-action quality...