Sociology Prof. Robert Nelson, the founding director of Northwestern’s Center for Legal Studies, accepted a prestigious position last week at one of the country’s premiere institutions for legal research.
Nelson, whose award-winning research has examined social inequality and the law, will become the new director of the American Bar Foundation on Sept. 1. He will replace Bryant Garth, an adjunct professor of law at NU who will step down after a 14-year directorship. Garth will continue his work with the organization as a senior research fellow.
“The Bar Foundation currently is the leading institute for empirical research on law, and my goal is to continue and add to that leading role,” said Nelson, currently a senior research fellow at the foundation and the Robert and Connie MacCrate Chair in the Legal Profession.
Nelson, who also has a courtesy appointment to NU’s Law School, said the director “is basically the chief operating officer” of the foundation, a nonprofit national research institute. He hopes to build a more diverse staff, increase the visibility of the institution’s research products, cultivate stronger links with other academic institutions and add to the endowment of the organization.
He will oversee a staff of about 25 research fellows, 20 part-time research assistants and a 15-person support staff.
Dean Daniel Linzer of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences congratulated the professor on his new position.
“Bob has a deep understanding of both law and social science, and why research on social science issues — the core mission of the American Bar Foundation — is essential to make informed changes and improvements in our legal system,” Linzer wrote in an e-mail to The Daily.
Nelson’s published work includes the 1999 book “Legalizing Gender Inequality: U.S. Courts, Markets and Unequal Pay for Women in America,” co-authored by William Bridges. The book garnered several awards, including the Distinguished Publication Award from the American Sociological Association, the Distinguished Book Award from the Cornell University Center for the Study of Inequality and the Best Book Prize from the Sociology of Law Section of the American Sociological Association.
Nelson, the former chairman of NU’s sociology department, will not teach any classes at NU next year, but he said he hopes to return the following year and teach one course per year at the graduate level.
He said he is “planning to take the time between now and Sept. 1 to do some strategic planning about how to proceed.”
Sociology Prof. Carol Heimer applauded Nelson’s promotion.
“I think it’s a great appointment, because he’s a very good administrator,” said Heimer, also a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation. “He’s an attentive leader and a very careful and energetic person and has superb leadership skills that make (his appointment) great for the Bar Foundation and a loss for the sociology department.”
