On the Passing of Prof. William Chambliss

We’re sad  to share this news on the loss of Bill Chambliss from GW’s Sociology department.  Bill offered many Honors courses over many years and took on UHP students in his research but probably made the largest impact mentoring UHP students in their own research.  Our hearts and minds are with Bill’s family and friends.
Indeed, last spring at the UHP research symposium, Bill commented to our program director on the pride he felt in his Honors students and the pleasure he took in the way they challenged him. We are so very grateful to have had him on the Honors faculty.
Included below is a message from the GW Sociology Department:
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I am sorry to report that the Department of Sociology and the entire GW community have lost a dear friend and colleague.  Bill Chambliss, Professor of Sociology at GW for over 25 years, died on February 21, 2014.
Bill was a towering figure in sociology whose work transformed the scholarly worlds of social theory, the sociology of law, and criminology.  Widely known internationally as a leading conflict theorist, Bill was always quick to point out that he was a sociologist whose interests included criminology.  Among his “associates” were leading and petty crime figures, officials who enabled their behavior, and the victims of predatory policies and practices. As his longtime friend and fellow sociologist Richard Applebaum stated, “Bill repeatedly went to the streets.  He hung out with such notorious organized crime chiefs as Meyer Lansky as well as low-level drug dealers and petty criminals in Seattle; poppy growers, heroin traffickers, and CIA chiefs in Thailand’s Golden Triangle; pirates of many stripes, whenever he could find them.” His research examined the elites of many segments of society. But his sympathies and messages were always for those who were often criminalized primarily because they happened to be poor.  As Applebaum observed, Bill “loved to be among those who were on the receiving end of an exploitive social system shaped by race and class.”
In a career spanning over 50 years he produced almost two dozen books, countless articles (frequently reprinted in readers for decades), and popular pieces.  Bill received his PhD at the University of Indiana in 1962, held faculty positions at several universities and was in constant demand as an invited lecturer at universities on almost every continent.  He came to GW in 1986.  Among the many awards he won were the following:  he was elected President of the American Society of Criminology in 1998, he was President of the Society for the Study of Social Problems in 1993, he received Lifetime achievement awards from the American Sociological Association Sections on Criminology in 1985 and the Sociology of Law in 2009, and from the American Society of Criminology he won the society’s Major Achievement Award in 1995 and the Edwin H. Sutherland Award in 2001.  In 2012 the Society for the Study of Social Problems created the William J. Chambliss Lifetime Achievement Award and he was the first recipient. Bill’s life was filled with scholarly achievement and joy, both of which he shared with all around him.
At his side during his last few days were his wife Pernille, his sons Jeff and James and daughter Lauren, and his grandchildren.  He will be missed greatly by his family and many friends.  As the outpouring of messages I received within 24 hours of his passing confirmed, Bill was loved by his many students, colleagues, and dear friends around the country.  Bill truly “spoke truth to power” before that phrase became a cliché.  His voice has been stilled.  But his influence will long live on.
Greg Squires
Chair, Department of Sociology