Robert Cooley Angell (April 29, 1899 - May 12, 1984) was an American sociologist and educator. Committed to the advancement of rigorous social scientific research, Angell's work focussed on social integration and the pursuit of a more peaceful world order.[1] Professor Angell enjoyed the highest honors which his discipline bestowed, presiding over both the American Sociological Society (1951) and the International Sociological Association (1953–1956). As a devoted educator, Angell was instrumental in developing the Honors Program at the University of Michigan, becoming its first director from 1957–1960.
Angell was born into a family of educators on April 29, 1899, in Detroit, Michigan, he was inquisitive, athletic, academic and devoted to family, especially his sister, Sarah Caswell Angell. Ideas were widely discussed in his household with such relatives as; James Burrill Angell, his grandfather, president of the University of Vermont (1866–1871) and the University of Michigan (1871–1909), James Rowland Angell, his great uncle, a psychologist and president of Yale University (1921–1937), Charles Horton Cooley, his uncle, a sociologist, educator, and author and his cousin, Constance McLaughlin Green, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian (1963) and history professor at Smith College.
His summers were spent in Seal Harbor, Maine playing tennis, hiking and sailing—activities he avidly pursued throughout his life. Competitive in nature, Angell loved a challenge and took pleasure in games of all kinds. He suffered with a persistent stutter.
In December 1922, he married Esther Kennedy, University of Michigan class of '22. They had two children, James Kennedy Angell and Sarah Caswell Angell Parsons. The Angell family welcomed faculty members, visiting lecturers, friends and students into their Ann Arbor home where conversation was animated and thought-provoking.[2]
Angell attended the Liggett School and Central High School, in downtown Detroit. He attended college at The University of Michigan in 1917, earning his B.A. in 1921, M.A. In 1922, and Ph.D. in 1924. His studies were interrupted in 1918, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service and received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in May 1919. After graduation from college, he considered following his father, Alexis Caswell Angell, into the practice of law, spending a semester at Harvard Law School. However, the study of law did not take and Angell returned to study sociology at the University of Michigan. He was appointed Lecturer in 1922 and Assistant Professor of Sociology in 1924 (Sociology was then under the jurisdiction of Economics). In 1930, Angell became Associate Professor, at the same time, the discipline gained separate departmental status. In 1935 he became a full Professor of Sociology.[3]
Dr. Angell served as Chairman of the Sociology Department at the University of Michigan from 1940-1951. During this time he was instrumental in bringing Theodore Newcomb and Ronald Freedman to the department as well as the groups that formed the Survey Research Center and the Research Center for Group Dynamics.[4]
Angell edited the American Sociological Review from 1946 to 1948. He was elected President of the American Sociological Association in 1951. He served abroad as director of UNESCO's Social Science Department in Paris from 1949–1950 heading up a project on world tensions. As a result of this important work, Angell was instrumental in founding the International Sociological Association and served as the organization's second president from 1953–1956.
Angell served as Director of the University of Michigan Honors Council, initiating a new four-year program for gifted students in the Literary College from 1957–1960, and as Director of the Center for Research on Conflict Resolution (1959), and the Journal of Conflict Resolution (1957) both of which he also helped found.[5]
Retiring his Professorship in 1969, Dr. Angell continued to teach, mentor and serve the University of Michigan throughout his lifetime. He also stayed physically active, enjoying long walks, playing tennis, and sailing.[6]
During the time of the World War, Professor Angell was in the middle of his academic career at the University of Michigan. In 1918, Angell entered the U.S. Army Air Service and received commission as 2nd Lieutenant in May 1919. That year, after serving in the Army, he returned to the University and graduated in 1921. Although being a part of the Army frightened Angell, being able to come back and get his degree was extremely important to him. Robert Cooley Angell earned a Bronze Star Medal in 1944 for serving his country.