Lawrence D. Bobo Explained

Lawrence D. Bobo
Birth Date:	18 February 1958
Nationality:	American
W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences
Workplaces:	Harvard University Stanford University University of California, Los Angeles University of Wisconsin, Madison
Notable Students:	Camille Z. Charles

Lawrence D. Bobo is the W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences and the Dean of Social Science at Harvard University. His research focuses on the intersection of social psychology, social inequality, politics, and race.^[1]

Early life and education

Bobo is the second of three sons born to Joseph R. Bobo Sr., a graduate of Meharry Medical College and once the chief of minor trauma at USC County Medical Hospital in Los Angeles, California, and Joyce Cooper Bobo, a longtime teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

His mother is the daughter of Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106-year-old Atlanta woman Barack Obama mentioned in his victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago, upon his election as president in 2008.^[2] Bobo wrote of his relationship with her in a blog post for The Root at the time of her death.^[3]

Bobo grew up in the San Fernando Valley, living in Pacoima when young and in Granada Hills in his teenage years, attending public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District from kindergarten through high school. He graduated magna cum laude from Loyola Marymount University with his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1979. He then received his Master of Arts degree in 1981 and Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1984, both in sociology, from the University of Michigan.^[4]

Career

Bobo has held tenured appointments in the sociology departments at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (1989–1991), University of California, Los Angeles (1993–1997), Stanford University (2005–2007), and Harvard University (1997–2004, 2008–present).

He is a founding editor of the Du Bois Review,^[5] published by Cambridge University Press. He is co-author of the book Racial Attitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations and senior editor of Prismatic Metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles. His most recent book Prejudice in Politics: Group Position, Public Opinion, and the Wisconsin Treaty Rights Dispute was a finalist for the 2007 C. Wright Mills Award.

Bobo is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences^[6] as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^[7] and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a Guggenheim Fellow, an Alphonse M. Fletcher Sr. Fellow, a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and a Russell Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar.

Bobo's h-index is currently 53 and Citation count is 26,881.^[8]

As of 2024, he chairs American Institutes for Research's board of directors.

In June 2024, Bobo authored a Harvard Crimson op-ed arguing that Harvard should sanction faculty members who "excoriate University leadership, faculty, staff, or students with the intent to arouse external intervention into University business".^[9] Bobo's essay drew widespread criticism from faculty at Harvard and other universities, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board.^{[10] [11] [12]} Ten members of the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard responded to Bobo in another Crimson op-ed, calling his arguments "downright alarming" and "clear infringements on academic freedom".^{[13] [14]}

Personal life

Bobo is married to Marcyliena H. Morgan, the Founding Director of the Hiphop Archive and Research Institute in the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

They live in the Brattle District of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a home originally designed by Lois Howe in 1898.^[15]  Bobo and Morgan remodeled the home, contracting with architect Mary Ann Thompson^[16] and consulting on the kitchen design with chefs Jody Adams and Aaron Sanchez. The remodeled Victorian has received recognition^[17] and awards.^[18]

Awards and honors

• Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research, The Roper Center, University of Connecticut (2021)^[19]
• Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement, American Association for Public Opinion Research (2020)^[20]
• Phi Beta Kappa (Alumni Member), Omega Chapter of California, Loyola Marymount University (2020)^[21]
• Outstanding Book Award, American Association for Public Opinion Research (for Prejudice in Politics) (2018)^[22]
• W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow, American Association of Political and Social Science (2017)^[23]
• Charles Horton Cooley-George Herbert Mead Award for a Career of Distinguished Scholarship in Sociological Social Psychology, American Sociological Association (2012)^[24]
• Outstanding Book Award, American Association for Public Opinion Research (for Racial Attitudes in America) (2005)^[25]

Selected bibliography

Books

• Bobo, Lawrence D.; Tuan, Mia (2006). Prejudice in Politics: Group Position, Public Opinion, and the Wisconsin Treaty Rights Dispute. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. .
• Bobo, Lawrence D. (ed.) (2003). Race, Racism, and Discrimination. Social Psychology Quarterly special issue 66(4).
• Bobo, Lawrence; O'Connor, Alice; Tilly, Chris (eds.) (2001). Urban Inequality: Evidence From Four Cities. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. .
• Bobo, Lawrence; Oliver, Melvin L.; Johnson, James H.; Valenzuela, Abel (eds.) (2000). Prismatic Metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. .
• Bobo, Lawrence D.; Sears, David O.; Sidanius, James (eds.) (2000). Racialized Politics: The Debate about Racism in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. .
• Bobo, Lawrence D. (ed.) (1997). Race, Public Opinion and Society. Public Opinion Quarterly special issue 61(1).
• Bobo, Lawrence D.; Krysan, Maria; Schuman, Howard; Steeh, Charlotte (1997). Racial Attitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. .

Book chapters

External links

• Harvard University Scholar Profile
• Harvard University Department of Sociology

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lawrence D. Bobo . Harvard University . 14 July 2020.
2. Web site: 2016-12-30 . Barack Obamas Rede - Lawrence Bobo: "Obama machte meine Grossmutter berühmt" . 2023-02-13 . Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) . de.
3. Web site: Bobo . Lawrence . 2009-12-23 . The Ann Nixon Cooper I Knew . 2023-02-13 . The Root . en.
4. Web site: Biographical Note . 2020-09-21 . scholar.harvard.edu.
5. http://dubois.fas.harvard.edu/DBR Dubois Review, Harvard University
6. http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AAHP_Database_Bio_Bobo Lawrence D. Bobo
7. http://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/april26/aaas-042606.html Eight scholars elected to academy of arts and sciences
8. Web site: Lawrence Bobo . 2023-05-04 . scholar.google.com.
9. News: Bobo . Lawrence D. . June 15, 2024 . Faculty Speech Must Have Limits . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240616100554/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/6/15/bobo-faculty-speech-limits/ . June 16, 2024 . June 18, 2024 . The Harvard Crimson.
10. News: Robinson . Tilly R. . June 18, 2024 . Harvard Faculty Slam Social Science Dean's Proposal to Limit Faculty Speech . live . https://archive.today/20240618174329/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/6/18/harvard-faculty-slam-bobo/ . June 18, 2024 . June 18, 2024 . The Harvard Crimson.
11. News: June 19, 2024 . Harvard's Dean of Speech Sanctions . subscription . live . https://archive.today/20240619231348/https://www.wsj.com/articles/harvard-dean-lawrence-bobo-faculty-speech-harvard-crimson-78d7cae1 . June 19, 2024 . June 20, 2024 . The Wall Street Journal.
12. News: Adler . Jonathan H. . Jonathan H. Adler . June 16, 2024 . A Frightening View of Free Speech and Academic Freedom at Harvard . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240618010052/https://reason.com/volokh/2024/06/16/a-frightening-view-of-free-speech-and-academic-freedom-at-harvard/ . June 18, 2024 . June 18, 2024 . Reason.
13. News: Flier . Jeffrey S. . Jeffrey Flier . Maskin . Eric S. . Eric Maskin . Pinker . Steven A. . Steven Pinker . June 19, 2024 . From the Leadership of CAFH: Don't Punish Faculty Speech . live . https://archive.today/20240620044428/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/6/19/CAFH-punish-faculty-speech/ . June 20, 2024 . June 20, 2024 . The Harvard Crimson.
14. News: Cristantiello . Ross . June 19, 2024 . Harvard dean's essay arguing for limiting faculty speech causes uproar . live . https://archive.today/20240620044720/https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/06/19/harvard-deans-essay-arguing-for-limiting-faculty-speech-causes-uproar/ . June 20, 2024 . June 20, 2024 . The Boston Globe.
15. Web site: Lois Lilley Howe: Pioneer Career Woman, Architect, Cambridge Citizen . 2023-07-20 . History Cambridge . en-US.
16. Web site: Maryann Thompson FAIA (2005) . 2023-07-20 . Boston Society for Architecture . en.
17. News: 2011-02-17 . A Victorian with a Modern Twist . 2023-07-20 . Wall Street Journal . en-US . 0099-9660.
18. Web site: Boston Society of Architects Awards 2010 . 2023-07-20 . awards.architects.org.
19. Web site: 2021 Warren J. Mitofsky Award Winner Lawrence D. Bobo Roper Center for Public Opinion Research . 2023-01-24 . ropercenter.cornell.edu.
20. Web site: Lawrence D. Bobo and Robert L. Santos Win AAPOR Awards - AAPOR . 2023-01-25 . www-archive.aapor.org.
21. Web site: University . Loyola Marymount . 2020 Induction - Loyola Marymount University . 2023-01-25 . academics.lmu.edu . en.
22. Web site: Past Book Award Winners - AAPOR. 2021-01-27. www.aapor.org.
23. Web site: Four Former Fellows Elected to AAPSS. 2020-10-07. casbs.stanford.edu. 9 January 2017 .
24. Web site: 2012-08-23. Lawrence Bobo honored by ASA. 2020-10-07. Harvard Gazette.
25. Web site: Past Book Award Winners - AAPOR . 2023-01-25 . www-archive.aapor.org.