The American Sociological Association (ASA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 ASA Awards, the highest honors the Association confers. Each awardee will be individually recognized on Sunday, August 9, during the 2026 ASA Annual Meeting in New York City.
The 2026 honorees reflect the breadth and impact of sociological scholarship, teaching, practice, and public engagement. This year’s recipients include sociologists whose work has advanced social justice, strengthened teaching and learning, deepened public understanding of sociology, and expanded the discipline’s scholarly reach. Additional information about the 2026 ASA Awards, including the full list of honorees and their complete bios, is available on the ASA Awards page.
Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award: Prudence L. Carter (Brown University) is the recipient of the 2026 Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award, which honors work in the intellectual traditions of Oliver Cox, Charles S. Johnson, and E. Franklin Frazier. It recognizes a sustained record of contributions to social justice; engagement in institution building and public-facing work; and a consistent focus on populations shaped by histories of racial and ethnic inequality.
Dissertation Award: Ed Cornelius (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities) and Erin Ice (University of Texas at Austin) are individual recipients of the Dissertation Award, which honors the best PhD dissertation from among those submitted by advisors and mentors in the discipline.
- Cornelius is recognized for the dissertation Car Wash Legacies: Lawyers, Globalization, and the Restructuring of the Brazilian Penal Field, completed at the University of Toronto.
- Ice is recognized for the dissertation My Mother’s Keeper: The Singularity of Caregiving in the U.S., completed at the University of Michigan.
- Honorable mention: Jillian LaBranche (Princeton University) receives an honorable mention for the dissertation Violence in the Classroom: Negotiating Historical Narratives in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, completed at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology: John Fox (McMaster University) posthumously receives the 2026 Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology, recognizing work that has served as a model for others, elevated the utility and public image of sociology, or achieved significant impact beyond the discipline. Fox passed away in November 2025.
Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award: Vincent Roscigno (The Ohio State University) and Stephen Sweet (Ithaca College) are individual recipients of the 2026 Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award, which honors outstanding contributions that improve the quality of undergraduate and graduate teaching and learning in sociology.
Distinguished Scholarly Book Award: Zophia Edwards (Johns Hopkins University) receives the 2026 Distinguished Scholarly Book Award for Fueling Development: How Black Radical Trade Unionism Transformed Trinidad and Tobago.
Honorable mentions:
- Elizabeth Chiarello (Washington University in St. Louis) for Policing Patients: Treatment and Surveillance on the Frontlines of the Opioid Crisis
- Irene I. Vega (University of California-Irvine) for Bordering on Indifference: Immigration Agents Negotiating Race and Morality
Early Career Award for Community-Engaged Scholarship: Sarah Brothers (Pennsylvania State University) and David J. Knight (Yale University) are individual recipients of the inaugural Early Career Award for Community-Engaged Scholarship, recognizing work conducted in partnership with community-based organizations or community members to advance knowledge that supports community development and social justice.
Jessie Bernard Award: Joya Misra (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) receives the 2026 Jessie Bernard Award in recognition of scholarly work that has enlarged the horizons of sociology to encompass the role of women in society and honors significant cumulative contributions across a professional career.
Public Understanding of Sociology Award: Anna Romina Guevarra (University of Illinois Chicago) and Elizabeth Wrigley-Field (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities) are individual recipients of the 2026 Public Understanding of Sociology Award for advancing public understanding of sociology, sociological research, and scholarship among the general public.
W.E.B. Du Bois Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award: Arne L. Kalleberg (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill) receives the 2026 W.E.B. Du Bois Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award, honoring scholars whose cumulative work has made significant contributions to advancing the discipline of sociology.
