Litwak, Eugene 1925–

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LITWAK, Eugene 1925–

PERSONAL: Born June 23, 1925, in Detroit, MI. Education: Wayne State University, B.A., 1948; Columbia University, Ph.D., 1948.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University, 600 West 168 St., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10032. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Educator and sociologist. Cornell University Housing Research Center, Ithaca, NY, research associate, 1951–53; Johann-Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, instructor and research associate, 1953; University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, assistant director of Family Study Center and instructor in sociology, 1953–56; Columbia University, New York, NY, instructor, then assistant professor, 1956–59, professor, 1972–85, professor of sociology and public health and head of Division of Sociomedical Sciences at the School of Public Health, 1985–96; University of Michigan School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, 1959–71, associate professor, then professor. Visiting professor at University of Tel Aviv, 1970 and 1971, and at Andrus School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 1992.

MEMBER: American Sociological Association (president of family section, 1969–70; member of William J. Goode book award committee, family section, 1988–89), Sociological Research Association, Eastern Sociological Society (member of executive committee, 1985–87).

AWARDS, HONORS: Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences fellow, 1966–67; National Institute of Mental Health special fellow, 1966–67; Ford Foundation visiting scholar, Hungarian Academy of Science, 1967; Australian National University, School of Social Sciences fellow, 1984.

WRITINGS:

Relationship between School-Community Coordinating Procedures and Reading Achievement, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford, CA), 1966.

(With Henry J. Meyr) School, Family, and Neighborhood: The Theory and Practice of School-Community Relations, Columbia University (New York, NY), 1974.

Helping the Elderly: The Complementary Roles of Informal Networks and Formal Systems, Guilford Press (New York, NY), 1985.

Contributor, with D. Jessop and H. Moulton, to Family Caregiving across the Life Spans, edited by E. Kahana, D. Biegel, and M. Wykle, Sage Publications, 1994. Contributor of articles to academic journals, including Community Mental Health Journal, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Contemporary Jewry, Marriage and Family Review, and American Sociological Review. Research on Aging, associate editor; Marriage and Family Living, associate editor, 1962–68; Social Problems, associate editor, 1964–66; Sociometry, consulting editor; Journal of Health and Social Behavior, associate editor, 1987–89. Member of editorial board, Journal of Gerontology, 1989–83, and Trans-Action.

SIDELIGHTS: Eugene Litwak is a sociologist who has studied primary groups and formal organizations, including the ways in which such groups are linked to each other and how variations in formal organizational structure relate to optimal delivery of services. For example, in his 1985 book, Helping the Elderly: The Complementary Roles of Informal Networks and Formal Systems Litwak focuses on how informal primary groups—such as children, close friends, spouses, and neighborhoods—and large secondary and formal organizations—such as nursing homes and other service providers—can work together to provide care for the elderly who cannot take care of themselves. Litwak points out that informal primary groups deal better with uncertainty and idiosyncratic needs while formal organizations are best at providing routine services, such as bathing, feeding, and medical services. In a review for Contemporary Sociology, Sarah H. Matthews commented, "Contrary to popular wisdom … primary groups and formal organizations can exist side by side, complementing one another and avoiding conflict and friction."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Journal of Sociology, March, 1976, review of School, Family, and Neighborhood: The Theory and Practice of School-Community Relations, p. 1230; July, 1986, Sharon M. Keigher, review of Helping the Elderly: The Complementary Roles of Informal Networks and Formal Systems.

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, March, 1976, review of School, Family, and Neighborhood, p. 157.

Choice, November, 1974, review of School, Family, and Neighborhood, p. 1362; January, 1986, J. S. McCrary, review of Helping the Elderly: The Complementary Roles of Informal Networks and Formal Systems.

Contemporary Sociology, September, 1986, Sarah H. Matthews, review of Helping the Elderly.

Journal of Marriage and Family, May, 1975, review of School, Family, and Neighborhood, p. 459.

Library Journal, December 1, 1973, review of School, Family, and Neighborhood, p. 3555.

Social Worker, January, 1987, review of Helping the Elderly: The Complementary Roles of Informal Networks and Formal Systems, p. 86.