Renate Mayntz ’50

Alumnae Achievement Awards 1984

Sociologist

Born in Berlin in 1929, Renate Mayntz received her B.A. from Wellesley in 1950. After graduation, she returned to Germany where she earned her doctorate in sociology at the Free University of Berlin. Since that time, Dr. Mayntz has held teaching positions in both the United States and Europe. From 1959 to 1969 she was a visiting professor at Columbia University; from 1960 to 1965, a lecturer at the Free University of Berlin; and in 1964, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. She became a full professor of sociology at the Free University of Berlin in 1965, where she stayed until 1971.

Dr. Mayntz has also served as a member of the German Council for Educational Reform, the Governmental Commission for the Reform of Public Administration (Germany), and the Senate of the German Research Foundation.

Dr. Mayntz’ work in sociology, specifically organizational studies, has earned her numerous accolades and honorary degrees from the University of Uppsala, University of Paris X-Nanterre, and the University of Cologne. She was made a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002, won the Bielefeld Science Award from Bielefeld University in 2004, and was given the DGS (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie) Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding scientific performance in 2006.