Nina Bandelj, UCI sociology professor and associate vice provost for faculty development, has been elected to serve as vice president of the American Sociological Association (ASA). The leadership role puts the economic sociologist at the helm of the nation’s largest member organization for sociology faculty, researchers, practitioners and students. 

“I am deeply honored to be elected as vice president of the ASA, and also feel the weight of the responsibility that was entrusted in me, especially during these trying times,” she says. “The ASA’s mission is to support and promote sociological knowledge, teaching and efforts to advance social justice. What could be more relevant as we struggle against anti-Black racism, economic inequality, political polarization, doubt in science, COVID-19 repercussions? I hope ASA can make a difference and I will give it my all to contribute to our collective efforts. There’s much to do!”

Bandelj studies the social bases of economic processes, dispelling the assumption that the economy runs solely on the supply and demand rationale. She’s published more than 50 articles and book chapters and authored or edited six books. Her most recent - Money Talks - co-authored with Frederick Wherry and Viviana Zelizer, dives deeply into the topic of money; what it is, and how we make sense of it in an age when new currencies like Bitcoin and Apply Pay are gaining ground. She is a current editor of the Socio-Economic Review and associate editor of the American Journal of Cultural Sociology. She serves as treasurer of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, and is a past chair of the Economic Sociology Section of ASA and past chair of ISA RC09 Social Transformations and Sociology of Development. In 2016, she was elected to the Sociological Research Association, a highly selective 400-person society of sociological scholars.

Bandelj earned her Ph.D. at Princeton University and joined the UCI faculty in 2003. On campus, she co-directs the Center for Organizational Research and has served in leadership roles as the equity advisor and acting associate dean for research and graduate studies in social sciences. She spearheaded the formation of the Social Sciences DECADE Council and is an active mentor to students on campus. She was recognized in 2017 as the Academic Senate’s Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Service recipient, highlighting her outstanding contributions to university and public service. In 2018, she received the Dynamic Womxn of UCI Academic Achievement Award and this month, she is completing a year-long fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford.

Bandelj is UCI’s third professor to serve as ASA vice president, following Distinguished Professor emeritus Dave Snow and Distinguished Professor Edward Telles who served in the role in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Her three-year term begins in August with one year each spent as elect, current and past vice president.