Morris "Buzz" Zelditch (February 29, 1928 – December 8, 2017) was an American sociologist. He was emeritus Professor of Sociology at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where he had been a member of the faculty since 1961. He was known for his work on the effects of status characteristics embedded in the stratification of the larger society, legitimacy of structures of authority, and generalizability of the results of sociological experiments. He received his B.A. from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1951 and his PhD from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1955; his doctoral advisor was

Talcott Parsons Talcott Parsons (December 13, 1902 – May 8, 1979) was an American sociologist of the classical tradition, best known for his social action theory and structural functionalism. Parsons is considered one of the most influential figures in soci ...

and his dissertation was titled ''Authority and Solidarity in Three Southwestern Communities''. He then taught at the sociology department of

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 ...

1955–61, before joining Stanford University in 1961 as an associate professor of Sociology and eventually as a full Professor. He was also chairman of Stanford's sociology department during the years 1964–1968 and 1989–1994. He officially retired in 1996, but continued to teach and to publish; "his current research on legitimacy is concerned with the legitimacy of groups: With its determinants; with its effects on the mobilization of resources, for example its effects on tax compliance, on the one hand, and moral hazards (such as corruption) on the other; with the consequences of these effects for the provision of public goods; and, finally, with effects of the legitimacy of multiple levels of groups on inter-group relations". He was editor-in-chief of the ''

American Sociological Review The ''American Sociological Review'' is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of sociology. It is published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the American Sociological Association. It was established in 1936. It is along ...

'' 1975–1978, President of the Pacific Sociological Association 1991–1992 and chairman of the theory section of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

in 1999–2000. He received the ''Cooley-Mead Award for Distinguished Scholarship'' from the ASA's Section on Social Psychology in 2000 and the ''Dean’s Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in Teaching'' from

in 2007. He died on December 8, 2017, at the age of 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zelditch, Morris 1928 births 2017 deaths American sociologists Columbia University faculty Stanford University faculty Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American Sociological Review editors People from Pittsburgh