June 28, 2013

Sociology Professor Named "Outstanding"

Sociology Professor Enrique Pumar

Enrique Pumar, associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology, has been chosen as an Outstanding Author Contribution Award Winner for the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2013 by Emerald publishing. Emerald is a global publisher of more than 290 journals and more than 2,000 books and book series volumes.

Pumar's article "National Development, Capability, and the Segmented Assimilation of Hispanics in Washington, D.C.," was part of a larger volume Hispanic Migration and Urban Development: Studies from Washington, DC, that he published in October 2012. Editors of the book series Research in Race and Ethnic Relations (of which this book was one part), nominated his essay.

"Your paper has been selected as it was one of the most impressive pieces of work the editor has seen throughout 2012," the publisher said to Pumar earlier this summer.

The article explains how people of different nationalities within an ethnic group adapt to life in the United States. Pumar focused on the experiences of seven Latino/Hispanic groups residing in Washington, D.C., and compared their rate of assimilation.

He concluded that the level of human development in the countries immigrants come from correlate to their rate of assimilation in the United States. "Immigrants who come from countries with high human development assimilate faster than others," Pumar says.

Pumar is a member of the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Institution's Latino Center and a contributing editor of the Handbook of Latin American Studies. Published by the Library of Congress, the handbook is one of the most prestigious publications in the field of Latin American Studies.

The Latino center was created in 1997 and its works spread across the entire network of Smithsonian museums, research centers, programs, and almost 200 affiliates nationwide to ensure that Latino culture, achievement, and contributions are celebrated and recognized, according to its website.

Last summer, he received a $52,000 grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Latino Center to direct the second phase of its Latino History Project .

"This award recognizes Professor Pumar's significant research dealing with the Hispanic/Latino community in the Washington, D.C. region, and we are especially proud of his Literati Network Award in connection with a topic of such importance to CUA's engagement in this community," says L.R. Poos, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.

Pumar will receive his award at the meeting of the American Sociological Society in New York City in August. The full list of winners can be found at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/literati/index.htm .