Social Problems

William Kornblum is a professor of sociology at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, where he helps train future instructors and researchers in the social sciences. He also teaches undergraduates at various campuses of the City University, including Queens College, Hunter College, and City College. A specialist in urban and community studies, Kornblum began his teaching career with the Peace Corps in the early 1960s, where he taught physics and chemistry in French-speaking West Africa. He received his Doctorate in Sociology from the University of Chicago in 1971. He also taught at the University of Washington at Seattle and worked as a research sociologist for the U.S. Department of the Interior. At the CUNY Graduate School, he directs research on environmental issues and on urban policy. With his longtime research partner, Terry Williams, he recently co-authored THE UPTOWN KIDS, a sociological portrait of teenagers and young adults growing up in high-rise public housing projects. He was also the principal investigator of Project TELL, a longitudinal study of the ways in which home computers can improve the life chances of young people at risk of dropping out of school. In 2005, Kornblum was awarded the Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology from the American Sociological Association.