PHILIP SELZNICK

BACKGROUND
The death of Philip Selznick on June 12, 2010, at age 91, took from us a scholarly giant, who helped
shape the sociology of organizations and transform the social study of law. Selznick enriched the
Berkeley community for over half a century. He arrived in 1952 as an assistant professor in the
Sociology Department; the unit he would later chair during the turbulent period of the Free Speech
Movement. From 1961-72, he served as Founding Director of Berkeleys Center for the Study of Law
and Society, which soon became a international destination for interdisciplinary research. He joined
the Law faculty in 1977 and was the Founding Chair of Berkeley Laws doctoral program in
Jurisprudence and Social Policy. He remained active long after his 1984 retirement and received
numerous lifetime achievement awards and academic honors.

contributions towards public administration

he main supporters of the neo-classical theory of organization that began in the 1930s. He is also a
major contributor to the sociology of law by developing his ideas about the institutions of law and
the problems encountered and possible responsive to the organization in terms of the preliminary
work on the sociology of formal organizations. Philip Selznick is the idea in the theory of mass
society.

signficant writing / article

An Approach to a Theory of Bureaucracy (1943).

Foundations of the Theory of Organization (1948).
Study in the Sociology of Formal Organization (1949).
Leadership in Administration (1957).