ornery Fellow
I received a letter today from the Chairman of the Sociology Department at the University of Wisconsin. It said, among other things,
Dear Mr. Paynter:
On behalf of the Department of Sociology of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I would like to offer an invitation as an Honorary Fellow in our department from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
…. The status of Honorary Fellow gives you access to university libraries as well as some other privileges.
More than shameless bragging here, this post is my expression of delight that I’ll be privileged to work at the university this year with some brilliant and principled people as I attempt first to understand the drivers that influence racial disparities in criminal justice administration and how these disparities affect us culturally and personally, and second how public policy formation may proceed to achieve dramatic changes for the better in the current situation. My purpose will be to share my deepening understanding more widely with the general public and to organize a modest movement for social change around that shared understanding.
(Friends will smile as well at the fact that I have been given a key to the gate in the JSTOR wall.)Wish me luck.


