Frank Folke Furstenberg Jr. (born 1940) is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Sociology, emeritus, at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. His research focuses on the family in the context of disadvantaged urban neighborhoods and adolescent sexual behavior. Furstenberg has written on social change, transition to adulthood, divorce, remarriage and intergenerational relations. Furstenberg is an elected member of the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, and

American Academy of Political and Social Science The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) was founded in 1889 to promote progress in the social sciences. Sparked by Professor Edmund J. James and drawing from members of the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmor ...

Early life and education

Frank Furstenberg was born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland, into an established Jewish family. His father, Frank Furstenberg Sr., was a prominent physician and advocate for national health care and his mother, Edith Hollander Furstenberg was a social worker and family matriarch. His siblings include the late founding owner of

Politics and Prose Politics and Prose (sometimes stylized as Politics & Prose or abbreviated as P&P) is an independent bookstore whose main location is in Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C., on Connecticut Avenue. They have two other locations in the DC area, one o ...

, Carla Furstenberg Cohen, the master baker, Mark Furstenberg, Michael Furstenberg, Anne Furstenberg and Ellen Furstenberg. Furstenberg received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

in 1961 and a Ph.D. degree in sociology from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1967. He joined the

sociology department as a professor in 1967. His honors include fellowships from

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is a private foundation formed in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Gr ...

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her re ...

and

Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit institution based in Princeton, New Jersey that says it aims to strengthen American democracy by "cultivating ...

Academic contributions

Furstenberg spent his academic career in the Sociology Department at the

as the Zellerbach Family Professor, where he remained until he retired. He was a visiting fellow at the

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) is an interdisciplinary research institution at Stanford University designed to advance the frontiers of knowledge about human behavior and society, and contribute to the resoluti ...

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

, and

Bocconi University Bocconi University or Università Bocconi (formally known in Italian language, Italian as ''Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi'' – Luigi Bocconi Commercial University) is a private university in Milan, Italy. The university is consistently ...

Publications

*'' Unplanned parenthood: The social consequences of teenage childbearing'', 1976. The Free Press
''Teenage sexuality, pregnancy, and childbearing''
edited with Richard Lincoln and Jane Menken, 1981. University of Pennsylvania Press *''Adolescent mothers in later life'', with J. Brooks-Gunn and S. Philip Morgan. 1987. New York: Cambridge University Press *''Managing to make it: Urban families in high-risk neighborhoods'', with Thomas Cook, Jacquelynne Eccles, Glen H. Elder Jr., and Arnold Sameroff. 1999. Chicago: University of Chicago Press *''On the frontiers of adulthood: Theory, research, and public policy'', edited with Richard A. Settersten Jr. and Rubén G. Rumbaut. 2005. University of Chicago Press *
Destinies of the Disadvantaged: The Politics of Teenage Childbearing
', 2007. Russell Sage Foundation *''The new American grandparent: A place in the family, a life apart'', with Andrew J. Cherlin, 1986. Basic Books
''Divided Families: What Happens to Children when Parents Part''
with Andrew J. Cherlin, 1991. Harvard University Press. *''Behind the academic curtain: How to find success and happiness with a Ph.D.'' (2013. University of Chicago Press)

Personal life

Furstenberg is married to Nina Segre. Together they have five children and six grandchildren and live in Philadelphia. His nephew,

François Furstenberg François Furstenberg is a historian. He taught at the Université de Montréal and currently teaches at Johns Hopkins University. Biography Furstenberg was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington. His gran ...

, is a historian at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

References

External links

Furstenberg's website at University of PennsylvaniaFurstenberg's author page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furstenberg, Frank 1940 births Living people Haverford College alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American sociologists University of Pennsylvania faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine