Joan Acker

Joan Acker Dr. Joan Acker died June 21st at age 92. Joan was a groundbreaking feminist scholar who was nationally and internationally recognized and honored for her work on gender, class, work and social relations. Joan was a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, where she was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Women in Society. She also spent many years in Sweden as professor at The Swedish Center for Working Life. She was a scholar and activist who believed that her work should make a difference in people's lives, and it did. Much of her work focused on unequal pay for women and men for the same work, including publication of the book Doing Comparable Worth: Gender, Class, and Pay Equity, and service on the Pay Equity Commission for the State of Oregon. She received both the American Sociological Association's Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award and the Association's Jessie Bernard Award for feminist scholarship. Joan published numerous books, papers and reports and continued to write and lecture around the world through her eighties. She is revered by former students and colleagues. She is survived by her three sons, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Donations in Joan's memory can be made to Special Collections and University Archives or the Center for the Study of Women in Society, both through the University of Oregon Foundation. A commemoration of Joan's life will be held on August 27 in Eugene. Arrangements entrusted to Musgrove Family Mortuary. Please access the obituary and you are invited to sign the guestbook at musgroves.com