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Newsletter
Southwestern Sociological Association
Early Fall 2007

Special points of interest:
Session organizers needed for the 2008 annual meeting to be held March 12—15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Viva Las Vegas: 88th Annual SSSA Conference
The Southwestern Social Sciences Association will hold its annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 12—15, 2008. In addition to scholarship, we hope new and future members enjoy Las Vegas fun.
Notable attractions are Bellagio’s fountains, the Stratosphere, and Freemont Street. The Grand Canyon is near, too! Remember, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

Call for Nominations of Officers
If you or someone you know is interested in serving as an officer of the Southwestern Social Sciences Association, we would like to know. Each year, we are pleased to have such a fine group of candidates for important positions in our organization. Cherylon Robinson, University of Texas, San Antonio is our Nominations chair this year and is anxious to begin the process. Please contact her to nominate yourself or someone else at crobinson@utsa.edu.

Inside this issue:
Executive Committee
2007 Paper Competition Awards & Conference
Dr. Hiram Friedsam Remembered
SSSA Changes
Call for Session Organizers &

Papers Submission Guidelines

87th Annual SSA Meeting in Albuquerque a Success
The 87th annual SSA meeting had 217 papers presented in 66 sessions for 2007. We had a wider variety of institutions represented than in 2006 and about 70 students participated. Our plenary speaker, Dr. William H. Breezley, delivered an
exceptional address, entitled “Is Abel Quesada’s Mexican
Dream Coming True? Mexican Migration, Economics, and History.

Dr. Breezley is a Professor of History at the University of Arizona and Director of Oaxaca (Mexico) Graduate Field School of Modern Mexican History. Prior to joining the University of Arizona, he held the Neville G. Penrose Chair in Latin American Studies at Tulane University. He is nationally recognized as one of America’s foremost authorities on modern Mexican history and has earned numerous teaching awards and scholastic honors during his distinguished career.

Silent Auction
The annual Silent Auction brought in a total of $432.00. These donated funds go to support the American Sociological Association’s Minority Fellowship Program.

Norma Williams Award Goes to Hiram Friedsam, Posthumously
The Norma Williams Award recognizes an SSA member, in good standing for 10 years, who has provided ongoing service to the SSA through meeting participation and student mentoring. The 2007 Committee, appointed by the President, recognized Dr. Hiram Friedsam for all of his worthwhile contributions.

Student Paper Awards
Two student papers received awards at the 2007 SSA annual meeting. The prize for outstanding doctoral-level paper, $200, was awarded to Eric Y. Liu and Edward C. Polson (co-authors) of Baylor University. The award is made to an author (s) who has completed master’s-level work and is enrolled in a graduate program, pursuing the doctorate.
The prize for outstanding masters-level paper, also $200, was awarded to Carrie Graf and Joseph Baker of Baylor University, received awards for their paper.
Congratulations to our 2007 paper competition winners!

Hiram J. Friedsam, Ph.D. 1920—2007

Hiram J. Friedsam, Ph.D., Dean and Professor Emeritus at the University of North Texas and a resident of Denton, Texas, died from complications of pancreatic cancer in San Antonio, Texas in the early morning of March 24, 2007 with his family at his bedside. He was 87 years of age.

Born March 14, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Friedsam grew up in Waco, Texas. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and Master’s degree from the University of Texas prior to WWII. He served during WWII in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific as a First Lieutenant, participating in the Battle of Solomon Islands and at Guadalcanal Island from 1942 to 1943. He remained in the Marine Corps Reserves, and retired from the Reserves as a Major in 1961. Hiram met his wife, Reva, in New York City shortly after WWII. They married June 25, 1947, in Austin, Texas where he had returned to complete a doctorate at the University of Texas. He joined the faculty of North Texas State Teachers College (now the University of North Texas) in 1948 at the invitation of President A.J. McConnell as an assistant professor of economics. He later became the chairman of the sociology department. Dr. Friedsam was instrumental in establishing the Center for Studies in Aging at North Texas, the first gerontology program in Texas and one of the first in the nation. In 1973, after serving as director of the Center, Dr. Friedsam was appointed as the first Dean of the newly established School of Community Services (now the College of Public Affairs and Community Service), a position that he held until his retirement in 1983. Serving as Dean and Professor Emeritus, he maintained an office in the Department of Applied Gerontology (formerly the Center for Studies in Aging) where he continued to write and edit professional publications, serve on local and national advisory boards, and mentor students and faculty.

Dr. Friedsam was a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, of the Association for Gerontological Society of America and of the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education. At various times in his career he served as President of the Southwestern Sociological Society, the Southwestern Social Science Association, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, and the Texas Society on Aging. A delegate to the 1961, 1971, and 1981 White House Conference on Aging, he served as co-chair of the Training Section at the 1971 conference and as a consultant to the Technical Committee on Education for the 1981 conference. In 1968 he was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to serve on his Presidential Task Force on Older Americans.

The author or co-author of more than fifty publications, he also served a term as Editor-in-Chief of The Gerontologist, a journal published by the Gerontological Society of America. Dr. Friedsam’s activities in the field of aging also included terms as chairman of the Citizens Advisory Council for the Texas Department on Aging and membership in the Advisory Council of the North Central Texas Council of Government’s Area Agency on Aging. In the Denton area, he advised on the origins of several aging services programs including SPAN, The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Good Samaritan Village, and Fairhaven where he also served as a board member. Hiram received the President’s Award and Distinguished Teacher Award from the University of North Texas and was named as an Honorary Alumnus by the Alumni Association. His other awards included a President’s Citation from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the Trailblazer award from the Texas Joint Conference on Aging, and Distinguished Service Award from the Southwestern Social Science Association and from the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. Dr. Friedsam also received the Clark Tibbitts Award for contributions to gerontology education for that organization. Hiram is survived by his wife, Reva Sykes Friedsam, daughter and son-in-law Karen F. and Tom Duncan, son S. Carl Friedsam and his wife Charlene, and grandchildren Stephen and Elizabeth Friedsam, his niece, Georgia Hepler (Bert), and cousin Sandra Mittica

Gifts in memory of Dr. Hiram J. Friedsam
Gifts may be made to the following scholarship funds: Friedsam Graduate Student Fund – Gerontology or the Friedsam Graduate Scholarship – Sociology. Gifts can also be made to the Friends of UNT Libraries. Make checks payable to the UNT Foundation and mail to the University of North Texas, Division of Advancement, P.O. Box 311250, Denton, TX 76203; or on-line donations may be made at https://development.unt.edu/givenow/givenow.php. Hiram supported many other non–profit and service endeavors, so gifts to other charities would be equally appreciated.

Constitutional Amendment Changes
Votes on three proposed amendments were tallied at the annual 2007 SSA meeting. The passed amendments include:
Change the Parliamentarian from being “elected” to being “appointed” by the President
Change only allowing annual elections of offices by mail to allowing elections by mail and through electronic media, such as Survey Monkey.
Delete all references to “Executive Committee” in the constitution and replace with “Executive Council.”
Dues and Conference Registration Fees Increase
SSA membership dues will increase $10 as will conference registration fees. This increase goes into effect for the 2008 dues and annual meeting. The increase will support, in part, two positions: SSSA Executive Officer whose duties will include administrative tasks, program director, convention director, and meeting site selction. The other paid position will be a General Editor of the Social Sciences Quarterly, which is now currently a volunteer position. Both paid positions would be part-time.

Call-for-Papers:
2008 Annual Meeting March 12-15, Las Vegas, Nevada
The 88th annual SSA meeting will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 12 –15, 2008. Please remain in contact with the association for updates regarding calls for session organizers and papers.
Session information will be sent in a second fall newsletter once contact information and sessions have been finalized.

Don’t forget to select sociology as your affiliate when you renew your membership. Please remind colleagues that this is important.

St. Mary’s University
Janet S. Armitage, Editor
SSA Newsletter
Department of Sociology
One Camino Santa Maria
San Antonio, TX 78228-8579