2023 Andrea Salvina, Professor, University of Pisa

2022 Eviatar Zerubavel, Professor, Rutgers University

2021 E. Doyle McCarthy, Fordham University

2020 Robert Dingwall, Nottingham Trent University

2019 Gary T. Marx, M.I.T. (Emeritus)

2018 Robert Prus

2017 Will van Hoonaard and Deborah van Hoonaard

2016 David Snow (UC Irvine)

2015 Ruth Horowitz. (New York University)

2014 Donileen Loseke (University of South Florida)

2013 Joel Best (University of Delaware)

2012 David Karp (Boston College)

2011 Clinton Sanders (University of Connecticut)

2010 Patti Adler and Peter Adler

2009 Joseph Kotarba

2008 Spencer Cahill

2007 Lonnie Athens

2006 Kathy Charmaz

2005 Clark McPhail

David Altheide

2004 Douglas Mitchell

2003 Gary Alan Fine

2002 John Johnson

2001 Lyn H. Lofland

2000 Sheldon Stryker

1999 David Maines

1998 Robert S. Perinbanayagam

1997 Norman Denzin

1996 Virginia Olesen

1995 John Lofland

1994 Peter Hall

1993 Helena Znaiecki Lopata

1992 Carl Couch

1991 Joseph Gusfield

1990 Ralph Turner

1989 Jacqueline Wiseman

1988 Louis Zurcher

1987 Howard S. Becker

1986 Tamotsu Shibutani

1985 Anselm Strauss

1984 Stanford Lyman

1983 Erving Goffman

1982 Kenneth Burke

1981 Everett Hughes

1980 Gregory Stone

1979 Alfred Lindesmith

1978 Herbert Blumer

Issei Misumi