Jonathan R. Cole
Encyclopedia
Jonathan R. Cole is an American sociologist, John Mitchell Mason Professor of the University at Columbia University
. He is best known for his scholarly work developing the sociology of science and his work on science policy. From 1989 to 2003 he was Columbia’s chief academic officer – its Provost and Dean of Faculties.
in 1964, and has spent his entire academic career at Columbia. He received his doctorate from the Department of Sociology in 1969, for a thesis entitled, The Social Structure of Science directed by Robert K. Merton
. He served successively as the Director of the Center for the Social Sciences from 1979 to 1987, when he became Vice President for Arts and Sciences. After two years, he was named Provost of the University and in 1994 became Provost and Dean of Faculties until 2003.
, Stephen Cole
(his brother) and Jonathan R. Cole as principal investigators with support from the National Science Foundation
for 20 years. It produced a substantial body of both theoretical and empirical work. Jonathan and Stephen Cole collaborated on studies of the system of social stratification in science and on the reward system in science examining the extent to which the social system of science approximated a meritocracy. culminating in their book, Social Stratification in Science (University of Chicago Press
, 1973). In this early work, they developed the use of citations as a measure of scientific quality and impact, the first social scientists to do so. After meeting with initial resistance, it is today widely used as a measure of scholarly impact and there is a very substantial literature on it.
He subsequently worked on the peer review system in science especially the claim that it was an “old-boys” network of self-reinforcing elites. The study resulted in two volumes on Peer Review in the National Science Foundation , both published by the National Academy of Sciences Press. He also worked on the role of women in science. His early work, Fair Science: Women in the Scientific Community (The Free Press, 1987) was one of the first major empirical works on this; he then carried out a series of studies in collaboration with Harriet Zuckerman. This NSF supported work, with extended interviews with hundreds of men and women scientists (including recorded interviews with scores of many eminent female scientists in the United States), resulted in many published papers and the volume The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community (1991, with Harriet Zuckerman and John Bruer, editors). This work papers explored the relationship between marriage, family, and scientific productivity, and tried to explain the “productivity puzzle” of increasing differences in the scientific publication rates of men and women scientists. It compares the careers and scientific productivity of matched samples of men and women in various fields of science. His interest in science has extended to work on the relationship between science and the media, dealing with the presentation by journalists of problematic scientific findings as “facts.”
In recent years, he has worked on issues in higher education, particularly the great American research universities, and on questions of scientific and technological literacy, intellectual property in the new digital media, and current problems facing research universities generally. In January 2010, his book The Great American University was published (PublicAffairs
, Perseus Publishing Group, 2010).
Between 1987 and 2003 he was primarily an academic administrator. After two years as Vice President for Arts and Sciences, Jonathan R. Cole was Columbia’s chief academic officer for 14 years – the second longest tenure as Provost in the University’s 250-year history. During these years, he has served three University presidents. In 2003, he returned to the faculty as John Mitchell Mason Professor of the University.
in 1975-76; in the same year, he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
. He spent the 1986-87 as a Visiting Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation
. In 1992, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
; in 2003, a “National Associate” of the United States National Academies of Science, in 2004 a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
. In 2004, he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and in 2005, he was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society
. He has been honored twice by the Government of Italy, as Ufficiale in 1994 and as Commendatore of the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 2003 for his work in creating the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He is best known for his scholarly work developing the sociology of science and his work on science policy. From 1989 to 2003 he was Columbia’s chief academic officer – its Provost and Dean of Faculties.
Biography
He was born in New York City attending New York City public schools, including Jamaica High School. He received his bachelor's degree from Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1964, and has spent his entire academic career at Columbia. He received his doctorate from the Department of Sociology in 1969, for a thesis entitled, The Social Structure of Science directed by Robert K. Merton
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton was a distinguished American sociologist. He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University, where he attained the rank of University Professor...
. He served successively as the Director of the Center for the Social Sciences from 1979 to 1987, when he became Vice President for Arts and Sciences. After two years, he was named Provost of the University and in 1994 became Provost and Dean of Faculties until 2003.
Works
His scholarly work has focused principally on the development of the sociology of science as an academic field. Columbia's Program in the Sociology of Science, was started with Merton, Harriet ZuckermanHarriet Zuckerman
Harriet Zuckerman is an American sociologist who specializes in the sociology of science. She is Senior Vice President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and professor emerita of Columbia University.-Life:...
, Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole (sociologist)
Stephen Cole is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at State University of New York, Stony Brook, the brother of Jonathan R. Cole.His scholarly work has been on the development of the sociology of science as an academic field. He was a founding member of Columbia's Program in the Sociology of...
(his brother) and Jonathan R. Cole as principal investigators with support from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
for 20 years. It produced a substantial body of both theoretical and empirical work. Jonathan and Stephen Cole collaborated on studies of the system of social stratification in science and on the reward system in science examining the extent to which the social system of science approximated a meritocracy. culminating in their book, Social Stratification in Science (University of Chicago Press
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, 1973). In this early work, they developed the use of citations as a measure of scientific quality and impact, the first social scientists to do so. After meeting with initial resistance, it is today widely used as a measure of scholarly impact and there is a very substantial literature on it.
He subsequently worked on the peer review system in science especially the claim that it was an “old-boys” network of self-reinforcing elites. The study resulted in two volumes on Peer Review in the National Science Foundation , both published by the National Academy of Sciences Press. He also worked on the role of women in science. His early work, Fair Science: Women in the Scientific Community (The Free Press, 1987) was one of the first major empirical works on this; he then carried out a series of studies in collaboration with Harriet Zuckerman. This NSF supported work, with extended interviews with hundreds of men and women scientists (including recorded interviews with scores of many eminent female scientists in the United States), resulted in many published papers and the volume The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community (1991, with Harriet Zuckerman and John Bruer, editors). This work papers explored the relationship between marriage, family, and scientific productivity, and tried to explain the “productivity puzzle” of increasing differences in the scientific publication rates of men and women scientists. It compares the careers and scientific productivity of matched samples of men and women in various fields of science. His interest in science has extended to work on the relationship between science and the media, dealing with the presentation by journalists of problematic scientific findings as “facts.”
In recent years, he has worked on issues in higher education, particularly the great American research universities, and on questions of scientific and technological literacy, intellectual property in the new digital media, and current problems facing research universities generally. In January 2010, his book The Great American University was published (PublicAffairs
PublicAffairs
PublicAffairs is an imprint of the Perseus Books Group, an American book publishing company located in New York City. From PublicAffairs' web site:...
, Perseus Publishing Group, 2010).
Between 1987 and 2003 he was primarily an academic administrator. After two years as Vice President for Arts and Sciences, Jonathan R. Cole was Columbia’s chief academic officer for 14 years – the second longest tenure as Provost in the University’s 250-year history. During these years, he has served three University presidents. In 2003, he returned to the faculty as John Mitchell Mason Professor of the University.
Awards and honors
He was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral SciencesCenter for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences is an American interdisciplinary research body in Stanford, California focusing on the social sciences and humanities . Fellows are elected in a closed process, to spend a period of residence at the Center, released from other duties...
in 1975-76; in the same year, he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
. He spent the 1986-87 as a Visiting Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation
Russell Sage Foundation
The Russell Sage Foundation is the principal American foundation devoted exclusively to research in the social sciences. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in New York City, the foundation is a research center, a funding source for studies by scholars at other institutions, and a key member of the...
. In 1992, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
; in 2003, a “National Associate” of the United States National Academies of Science, in 2004 a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
. In 2004, he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, and in 2005, he was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
. He has been honored twice by the Government of Italy, as Ufficiale in 1994 and as Commendatore of the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 2003 for his work in creating the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America.
Books
- The Great American University: Its Rise to Preeminence, Its Indispensable National Role, Why It Must Be Protected Public Affairs, 2010
- More Juice, Less Punch. New York Times, December 22, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/opinion/22cole.html
- The Research University in a Time of Discontent Baltimore Editor (with Elinor G. Barber and Stephen R. Graubard) : Johns Hopkins University Press. 1994
- The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community. Editor (with Harriet Zuckerman and John Bruer) : New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1991. Paperback edition, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.
- Fair Science: Women in the Scientific Community, New York: The Free Press. 1979. Paperback edition with a new preface, New York: Columbia University Press, 1987.
- Peer Review in the National Science Foundation: Phase One of a Study, Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences Press (Stephen Cole, Leonard Rubin and Jonathan R. Cole). 1978.
- Social Stratification in Science. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. Paperback edition, University of Chicago Press, 1981. Sections reprinted in many sources. Translated into Chinese, People’s Republic of China, 1999. (Jonathan R. Cole and Stephen Cole).
- The Social Structure of Science. Doctoral Dissertation, Columbia University. Dissertation Abstracts International (AAT6920169) (Thesis Advisor: Robert K. Merton) 1969