The Faculty History Project documents faculty members who have been associated with the University of Michigan since 1837. Key in this effort is to celebrate the intellectual life of the University. This Faculty History Website is intended as a component of the effort to document the extraordinary academic achievements of Michigan’s faculty in building and sustaining one of the world’s great universities. It provides access to a comprehensive database of information concerning the thousands of faculty members who have served the University of Michigan.
Find out more.
The Bentley Historical Library serves as the official archives for the University.
Memoir
Donald C. Pelz
Regents' Proceedings 296
Regents' Proceedings 296
Donald C. Pelz, research scientist in the Institute for Social Research and professor emeritus of psychology, retired from active faculty status on April 30, 1987.
Professor Pelz received his B.A. degree from Swarthmore College in 1942, his M.A. degree from State University of Iowa in 1944, and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan in 1952.
A member of the Institute for Social Research for almost forty years, Professor Pelz joined the Institute in 1948, soon after it was founded, as an assistant study director in the Survey Research Center. He was promoted to study director in 1950, assistant program director in 1957, and program director in 1960. He joined ISR's Center for Research on Utilization of Scientific Knowledge and served as its director from 1974-79. In 1962, he was appointed associate professor of psychology; he was promoted to professor in 1967.
Professor Pelz's most widely cited research focuses on productive climates for research and development in university, industrial, and government laboratories. Over a span of 20 years, from 1956-76, he published a series of books and articles on social factors related to scientific performance which attracted wide acclaim. A major book, Scientists in Organizations (co-authored with F. Andrews), has been translated into Russian and Japanese and has been designated a "citation classic" by the Institute of Scientific Information because of the frequency with which it has been cited by other authors.
A person with broad research interests, Professor Pelz has conducted other investigations that address social and motivational factors related to the high automobile crash rate for young male drivers, the process by which organizations identify and implement potentially useful innovations, administration of agricultural development, and methods by which social data from multiple points in time can be analyzed to identify causal priorities.
The Regents now salute this distinguished social scientist for his dedicated service by naming Donald C. Pelz Research Scientist Emeritus.