Professor named Distinguished Professor of Sociology Emily Irwin, Staff Writer

Pitt… Professor named Distinguished Professor of Sociology Emily Irwin, Staff Writer

Pitt Professor Kathleen Blee has been named the Distinguished Professor of Sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences. The title became effective on Jan. 1, and it recognizes Blee’s achievements in the sociology field throughout her career.

Blee has focused her research on racism and hate groups and has written several books including the Pulitzer-Prize-nominated “Women of the Klan: Racism and Gender in the 1920s,” a look at women who were actively involved in the Ku Klux Klan during that time period.

Blee is currently involved in a study of community groups in Pittsburgh who have come together to make some kind of social change within the last three years. The issues of these groups range from anti-war to animal rights. She has also recently been interested in the research and understanding of racial violence from the perspective of different victims.

Blee came to Pitt in 1996 and has since been teaching and continues with research and writing. Despite receiving several honors, her proudest achievement, she says, is the success of her students in her classes.

The title she has been given is “incredibly flattering,” Blee said.

Blee has also received the YWCA Pittsburgh Racial Justice Award and the University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award for a Senior Scholar in 2004. She teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in the sociology department.