Professor, Department of Sociology, Director CHOICES: Access, Diversity and Achievement in Higher Education, Institute for Social Science Research, University of California, Los Angeles
Nominee: William Sedlacek
Walter Allen is currently Professor of Sociology and Allan Murray Cartter Professor in Higher Education, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (eff. 7/1/04) at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also co-director of CHOICES, a longitudinal study of college attendance among African Americans and Latinos in California. Dr. Allen was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri where he graduated from Manual High and Vocational School (1967). His degrees in the field of Sociology are from Beloit College (B.A., 1971) and the University of Chicago (M.A., 1973; Ph.D., 1975). He is married to Wilma J. Sharber and has three children, Rena, Binti, and Bryan; a son-in-law, Stephan; four grandsons James, Zachary, Elijah and Bryce; and one granddaughter, Zoe. In 1978-79 he completed postdoctoral study in Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His honors include the Rockefeller Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (1982); Senior Fulbright Lecturer, University of Zimbabwe (1984-86); Distinguished Scholar Award, American Educational Research Association (1987, 1993); United Negro College Fund Distinguished Leadership Award (1988); Allerton Lecturer, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana (1988); Faculty Recognition Award, University of Michigan (1988); Distinguished Career Award, Association of Black Sociologists (1995); Distinguished Teaching Award, UCLA (1996); and President Nominee, American Sociological Association (1997). Dr. Allen is cited for distinguished achievement in “100 Years of Change,” Special Issue of Black Issues in Higher Education (1999); Who’s Who in the World(1996); Who’s Who in American Education (1995); Who’s Who in the Midwest (1988); Who’s Who in America (1988-89); Men of Achievement (1987); Outstanding Young Men of America (1982); Who’s Who Among Young Americans (1976); and Who’s Who Among High School Students (1967).
