EDWARD O. LAUMANN is the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago. Since joining the University in 1973, Professor Laumann has acted as the editor of the American Journal of Sociology, chair of the department of sociology, dean of the division of social sciences, provost of the University of Chicago, and is currently the director of the Ogburn Stouffer Center for Population and Social Organization.
Professor Laumann's many research interests include organizational and economic sociology, human sexuality, political sociology and social stratification. Professor Laumann directed the National Health and Social Life Survey, one of the largest surveys of sexual attitudes and behaviors in the U.S. since the publication of the Kinsey Reports in the 1950's. Professor Laumann is currently the principal investigator of a study examining the relationship between sexual behaviors and social institutions in Chicago, as well as a co-principal investigator of the National Survey of Chinese Sexual Practices. He also is a collaborator on the twenty-year follow-up study of Chicago lawyers.
Professor Laumann has published extensively, authoring numerous scientific articles, books and abstracts. Some of his book titles include: Chicago Lawyers: The Structure of the Bar, The Organizational State: Social Choice in National Policy Domains, The Hollow Core: Interest Representation in National Policymaking, The Social Organization of Sexuality.