22 Facts About Laud Humphreys

Robert Allan Humphreys, known as Laud Humphreys, was an American sociologist and Episcopal priest.

Robert Allan Humphreys was born on October 16,1930, in Chickasha, Oklahoma, to Ira Denver Humphreys and Stella Bernice Humphreys.

Laud Humphreys graduated from Chickasha High School in 1948.

Laud Humphreys then attended Colorado College, graduating with his BA in 1952.

Laud Humphreys attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, graduating with the MDiv degree in 1955.

Laud Humphreys obtained two pre-doctoral research fellowships from the National Institute of Mental Health to fund his dissertation research.

Laud Humphreys completed his dissertation in 1968, graduating with his PhD in that year.

Laud Humphreys's book won the C Wright Mills Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems in 1969.

Laud Humphreys was associate professor of sociology at Pitzer College, in Claremont, California, from 1972 to 1975; he earned full professorship at Pitzer in 1975, where he worked until about 1980, when he began to focus on his psychotherapist practice.

Laud Humphreys belonged to several sociological professional organizations, including the American Sociological Association, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, the Pacific Sociological Association, and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

Laud Humphreys was an invited speaker at more than a dozen symposia and other events, and was a guest on four TV shows.

Laud Humphreys married Nancy Wallace, a woman from a prominent Tulsa family, in 1960.

In 1974, Laud Humphreys came out as a gay man during a discussion at a conference session at the ASA.

Laud Humphreys was a co-founder of the Sociologists' Gay Caucus, established in 1974 as a response to a presentation by Edward Sagarin that criticized homosexual sociologists as hiding in the closet.

Laud Humphreys separated from his wife in 1980 and began living with Brian Miller, a graduate student at the University of Alberta.

Laud Humphreys was professor of sociology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, from 1972 to 1988 and died of lung cancer on August 23,1988, aged 57.

Laud Humphreys's biography, written by John F Galliher, Wayne H Brekhus, and David P Keys, was published in 2004, under the title Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology.

The authors establish the case that Laud Humphreys was an extremely complex person and that he was professionally marginalized in the discipline of sociology.

Laud Humphreys tapped into a theme of incongruence between one's words and deeds that has become a primary methodological and theoretical concern in sociology throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Laud Humphreys was a true pioneer and a hero to all of us in these fields.

Laud Humphreys influenced generations of sociologists and other social and behavioral scientists in complex ways.

Laud Humphreys is often studied in research methods classes for the ethical questions that his works raised.