On Thursday 13 January Fred Buttel passed away. Fred has been coping with cancer for at least a decade. While he managed to surprise his doctors time and again with his strong physical body and mental will, his condition weakened considerable the last half year. After complications during Christmas holidays and a tumor in his brains, he died last Thursday night.
All of you will remember Fred as our former RC24 president. He served our research community from 1998-2002 and contributed significantly to its professionalization, general standing and level of activities. But perhaps most of you will even more remember him as a giant in environmental sociology, in rural sociology and in the sociology of science and technology. He stands out as one of the leading international scholars of our subdiscipline, ever since it was formed in the 1970s. It is not so much the wide area of his publications, the large numbers of book chapters, articles and books from his hand, and the high quality of his academic interventions in almost all subjects and debates in environmental sociology which made Fred into one of the best in environmental sociology world-wide. It are even more his other qualities. During his entire academic career Fred was a champion in fair play, he brought various sociological (and political science) subdisciplines together, he build bridges between and remained critically engaged with many different school-of-thought in our sometimes conflict-ridden research community, and he motivated, stimulated and guided numerous young academics during their career. During a major symposium in honor of Fred, on 11 August 2004, it became clear that he was for many US and international environmental sociologist an ideal-type, a role model of what an academic environmental sociologist should be. He inspired many of us by both his intellectual capabilities and his academic character.
In recognition of his tremendous contribution the board of RC24 decided
just after last summer to install a “Frederick H. Buttel
International Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Environmental
Sociology: an award of Research Committee Environment and
Society (RC24) of the International Sociological Association (ISA)”. A detailed proposal has been submitted just
before X-mas to the ISA. The Executive Council of the International
Sociological Association will decide in it March meeting to install this ISA
award. Fred was very much touched by this.
With Fred we loose a magnificent scholar, a great sociologist, and an
academic environmentalist. But also a man with a fine sense of humor, who
stimulated a whole generation of environmental social scientists, someone who
pushed American sociologists to pay attention to academic developments in
Europe and elsewhere in the world, while making the international community of
environmental sociologists aware of the great work done in the US. In short: a
unique and irreplaceable environmental sociologist.
Our condolences go to his partner Pam, who supported him so much during
the last difficult months.
On behalf of the board of RC24.
Arthur Mol