BEN-DAVID, JOSEPH

BEN-DAVID, JOSEPH (1920–1986), Israeli sociologist. Ben-David was born in Gyor, Hungary, and immigrated to Israel in 1941. He studied at the London School of Economics from 1947–1949. He received his M.A. in history and sociology in 1950 and Ph.D. in sociology in 1955, both from the Hebrew University. In 1951 he was appointed George Wise Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University, in 1968 research associate and visiting professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, and in 1979 the Stella M. Rowley Professor of Education and professor of sociology at the University of Chicago. Ben-David's sociological research and publications reflected his interest in the interaction between macrolevel historical events and microlevel sociological processes in the areas of the development of science, higher education, and the professions and social stratification. His publications included Fundamental Research and the Universities: Some Comments on International Differences (1968), The Scientist's Role in Society: A Comparative Study (1971); American Higher Education: Directions Old and New (1972), and Centers of Learning: Britain, France, Germany and the United States (1971). (Beverly Mizrachi (2nd ed.)