Ruth Wallace

The Department lost a dear friend with the passing of Ruth Wallace on March 2, 2016. Ruth was an integral part of Sociology at GW where she taught for 31 years. And she was a giant in the field of sociology in the US and around the world. Through her many books, journal articles, public lectures, and other venues she was a pioneering voice in sociological theory, gender, and religion. Among her publications were the following books: They Call Him Pastor: Married Men in Charge of Catholic Parishes, Contemporary Sociological Theory: Expanding the Classical Tradition, (co-authored with Alison Wolf), Gender and the Academic Experience: Berkeley Women Sociologists. (coedited with Kathryn Meadow Orlans), They Call Her Pastor: A New Role for Catholic Women. and Feminism and Sociological Theory. Among the many awards she won were the American Sociological Association's Jessie Bernard Award for scholarly work on the role of women in society, the District of Columbia Sociological Society's Stuart Rice Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sociology, the Religious Research Association's H. Paul Douglass Lecturer, Marquette University's Joseph McGee Lecturer, and Santa Clara University's Distinguished Visiting Scholar. She will be missed by everyone who had the opportunity to know her. -- Greg Squires