Dr. Jonathan Cole, Professor

Jonathan R. Cole, currently the John Mitchell Mason Professor at Columbia University, is widely known throughout the United States for his fourteen years (1989-2003) as Columbia’s provost, holding the position for the second-longest tenure in the university’s 250-year history. He has also served as dean of faculties and vice president for arts and sciences – and has spent his entire academic career— at Columbia.

Dr. Cole’s scholarly work has focused principally on the development of the sociology of science as a research specialty. He has published numerous papers and books on this topic, including Social Stratification in Science (1973), Peer Review in the National Science Foundation: Phase One of a Study (1978), Peer Review in the National Science Foundation: Phase Two of a Study (1981), Fair Science: Women in the Scientific Community (1987), and The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community (1991). In recent years, Dr. Cole has focused his attention on examining issues in higher education – particularly the problems facing American research universities. In 1994, he co-edited The Research University In A Time Of Discontent, a critical examination of the challenges facing U.S. research institutions in a rapidly shifting, constantly evolving academic climate.

Among Dr. Cole’s many awards and accolades are fellowships and scholarships from several prestigious institutions, including the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (1975-76), the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1975-76), and the Russell Sage Foundation (1986-87). In 1992, Dr. Cole was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.