George Lowis
George Lowis, professor emeritus of sociology, died Friday, October 12, 2018. He was 88.
George joined Skidmore as an associate professor in 1967. He was promoted to professor and served as chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work from 1970 to 1976.
In 1973, he and a colleague, Darnell Rucker, accompanied a group of 36 Skidmore students to Greece, which was then under a military junta. “I believe we were the first Americans, as a group, to attend classes in Greek universities since (Col. George) Papadopoulos came to power in 1967,” he said at the time.
George received his undergraduate degree from Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now Colorado State University), his master’s from New York University and his doctorate from Pennsylvania State University. His research focused on community and social stratification, class consciousness, and the sociology of medicine and disease. In 1991, he published Sociodemographic Factors in the Epidemiology of Multiple Sclerosis: An Annotated Bibliography, an overview of the demographic and social correlates of the disease.
“George was deeply committed to his research, even crossing disciplinary boundaries and carrying his scholarship well into retirement,” said Bill Fox, professor emeritus of sociology.
After retiring in 1992, George worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He and his wife, Catherine, later moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was survived by Catherine and by a son, George.