Nora Cate Schaeffer is an American sociologist and survey statistician. She is Sewell Bascom Professor of Sociology, Emerita, and was director of the Survey Center at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, and president of the

American Association for Public Opinion Research The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) is a professional organization of more than 2,000 public opinion and survey research professionals in the United States and from around the world, with members from academia, media, gover ...

Education and career

Schaeffer graduated in 1971 from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...

with a bachelor's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

. She earned a master's degree in

urban studies Urban studies is based on the study of the urban development of cities. This includes studying the history of city development from an architectural point of view, to the impact of urban design on community development efforts. The core theoreti ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1974, with a master's thesis on ''Islam and the City: A Research Ideology Reassessed'' supervised by geographer Paul Wheatley. She returned to the University of Chicago for doctoral studies, completing a Ph.D. in sociology there in 1984. Her dissertation, ''Distress in Major Adult Roles and Depression among White Men and Women'', was supervised by Edward O. Laumann. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Schaeffer worked at the

National Opinion Research Center NORC at the University of Chicago is one of the largest independent social research organizations in the United States. Established in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center, its corporate headquarters is located in downtown Chicago, with o ...

and the Center for Policy Research. After completing her doctorate, she joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an assistant professor in 1984. She became director of the Survey Center in 2003 and Sewell Bascom Professor in 2008. In 2018 she was elected president of the

for 2019–2020.

Recognition

In 2010, Schaeffer became a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The number of new fellows per year is limited ...

. She also became a fellow of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research in 2015.

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaeffer, Nora Cate Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American sociologists American women sociologists American statisticians Women statisticians Washington University in St. Louis alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty