Anneliese Maier Research Award granted to renowned expert for sociological inequality research

On 11 September 2014, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation granted the Anneliese Maier Research Award to American sociologist Donald Tomaskovic-Devey. The foundation had announced last December that the academic was one of eight award winners. The 250,000 euro award will be used to fund the research cooperation with the Collaborative Research Centre on social inequalities at Bielefeld University (CRC 882: ”From Heterogeneities to Inequalities” (SFB)). Here, among other things, Tomaskovic-Devey has been involved in building up an international research network on explanations for the causes of social inequalities since June 2014.

Bielefeld sociologist Professor Stefan Liebig had nominated the American for the award: “I am delighted that my nomination of Donald Tomaskovic-Devey was successful, and with the fact that for the first time we have a winner of the Anneliese Maier Research Award conducting research in Bielefeld. Internationally, he is one of the most revered researchers in the field of sociological inequality research.” Donald Tomaskovic-Devey will be resuming his work at Bielefeld University in October. In the next five years, he will be here again from time to time, working on a series of projects with the members of the Collaborative Research Centre. “This cooperation over the next few years also means that sociology at Bielefeld and our work on studying the causes and consequences of social inequality will become more prominent internationally. The award will therefore contribute to building up Bielefeld University as a centre of sociological inequality research.”

Donald Tomaskovic-Devey’s work involves developing a theory of social inequalities that can be tested empirically; a theory that names the exact determinants of the unequal distribution of income, education, or even opportunities on the labour market and the consequences this has for both the individual and society.

Researchers at the CRC 882 (SFB) are currently preparing an application for extension for their Collaborative Research Centre. Part of the application will be Donald Tomaskovic-Devey’s own international comparative research project, which addresses the significance of companies regarding the extent of inequality in earnings within a society. Provided the application is successful, this means the American sociologist will be even more closely involved in the Collaborative Research Centre.

The Anneliese Maier Research Award is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and aims to promote the internationalisation of humanities and social sciences in Germany. The eight award winners were chosen out of a total of 60 nominations from 17 different nations.

Contact:
Professor Dr. Stefan Liebig, Bielefeld University
Faculty of Sociology
Phone: +49 (0)521 106-4616   
E-mail: stefan.liebig@uni-bielefeld.de