Lowell Juilliard Carr (1885 – 1963) was an American sociologist, prolific author, and long-time university professor. He is best known for his book Willow Run, which discusses the sociological conditions arising from the wartime increase in the worker population at the Willow Run bomber plant during World War II.[1] He was also a pioneer in the field of studying the underlying social causes for juvenile delinquency.
Carr was born in Ohio in 1885. He was an editor at the Detroit Free Press before receiving his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Carr began teaching undergraduate courses in 1907. He was a sociology professor at the school for the next thirty years. In 1923, he wrote a musical comedy entitled "The Iron Age", which was performed on campus. He received his Ph.D in 1924, also from the University of Michigan. Carr then traveled to Europe and studied for a year at the University of London before returning to Ann Arbor.[2]
During his tenure as a professor, he co-wrote one of the leading early reference works discussing modern sociology with Charles Cooley and Robert C. Angell, a book that is still often quoted. He emphasized the educational process as a means for social improvement through the progressive building of a better society.[3]
In recognition of his pioneering work on understanding and preventing delinquency in minors, Carr became the director of the Michigan Child Guidance Institute and was its spokesperson for several years in the 1940s.[4] He also frequently wrote articles for the Michigan Juvenile Delinquency Information Service, as well as editing and publishing the Delinquency News Letter for the Michigan State Welfare Dept, Bureau of Probation.[5]
In the 1950s, Carr moved from Michigan to Miami, Florida, and accepted a teaching position as a professor of sociology at the University of Miami.[6]