THE AMOS H. HAWLEY PROFESSORSHIP
(One of The Margaret and Paul A. Johnston Professorships)
Amos H. Hawley, a population specialist and Kenan Professor of sociology, was born in 1910 in St. Louis, Mo. In 1936, he earned his B.A. from the University of Cincinnati and then received two degrees in sociology from the University of Michigan: an M.A. in 1938 and a Ph.D. in 1941.
After graduating, Hawley was a University of Michigan faculty member until 1961. During his last 10 years at Michigan, Hawley served as the sociology department chair. In 1966, Hawley joined the faculty at UNC-CH and became a Kenan Professor four years later.
Hawley focused his research on population issues and was well known for his academic contribution to the fields of human ecology, population studies and urban sociology. He served as consultant and adviser to many organizations that deal with the world's population problems. For example, Hawley was an adviser to the director of selective services during World War II. Later, he introduced concepts of family planning to Thailand, assisted the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Senate in population and urban projects and acted as consultant to the Michigan State Planning Commission. He was formerly president of both the Population Association of America and the 14,000-member American Sociological Association.
Hawley is married to the former Gretchen Haller, and they have four children: Steven, Margie, Susan and Patricia. He retired from UNC-CH in 1976.
The Margaret and Paul A. Johnston Professorships were established in 1987 by a bequest in Paul A. Johnston’s will for more than $10 million -- the second largest bequest received by the University. The series of professorships in the College of Arts and Sciences honors retired faculty members. The number of professorships varies, as does the academic disciplines to which they are assigned. Paul Johnston specified that the retired faculty members for whom professorships are named must be living when the professorships are created. For more information on the Johnstons, see the entry on The Margaret and Paul A. Johnston Professorships.
Amos H. Hawley Professors:
1998-99: Charles K. Paull, Department of Geology
2002-present: J.S. Marron, Department of Statistics