Howard W. Odum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Howard Washington Odum (born May 24, 1884 near Bethlehem, Georgia; died November 8, 1954 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina) was an American sociologist. He graduated from Emory University and received his first doctorate, in psychology, at Clark University. He received his second doctorate, in sociology, at Columbia University. He went on to served as Assistant Director of Research for President Herbert Hoover's Research Committee on Social Trends, wrote three novels, was President of the American Sociological Association in 1930, and was also founding member of the Southern Regional Council.^[1]

Odum became a faculty member in the School of Public Welfare (a precursor of the School of Social Work) and Department of Sociology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1920. While at Chapel Hill, Odum founded the journal Social Forces ^[2] in 1922 and the H.W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science ^[3] in 1924.

He was the father of ecologists Howard T. (Tom) and Eugene Odum.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Inventory of the Howard Washington Odum Papers, 1908-1982, in the Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill
• Profile at Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Black History