It is with great sadness that the Council marks the passing of Kenneth Prewitt, eminent social scientist, dedicated public servant, and organizational leader who served twice as president of the Social Science Research Council (1979–1985 and 1995–1998).

Under Prewitt’s leadership, the Council advanced research across international peace and security studies, area studies, and research methodology. In 1980, amid mounting scrutiny of federal funding for research, Prewitt testified before the House Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology on the value of social science, citing how government agencies and private companies relied on concepts and knowledge derived from the social sciences. The following year, as the incoming administration proposed deep cuts to social science funding, Prewitt helped transform the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) into an active coalition defending public investment in social research. During his second presidency, he commissioned a new history of the Council to mark its 75th anniversary—a lasting record of the institution he twice led.

Prewitt published in SSRC’s Items on scholarly exchange with China, race in the US Census, and the accountability of American social science to those who fund and use it. He was also a key partner in the SSRC’s 2018 To Secure Knowledge report on securing the social knowledge infrastructure for future generations.

Beyond his tenures at the Council, Prewitt served as the director of the US Census Bureau, director of the National Opinion Research Center, senior vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation, president of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and a professor and fellow at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, among others. 

Incoming SSRC president Daniel Goroff said, “Ken has long been an inspiration to so many who care about data and the social sciences, myself included. The SSRC today is building on ideas he pursued with unusual grace, dedication, and insight. Concerning our work on social measurement in particular, I recall how Ken said that you can’t run a modern society without denominators.”

Prewitt’s impact at the Council lives on in our work today. We are deeply grateful for his insight and leadership.