Straus Honored by Alumni

Murray Straus is the recipient of the 2000 Pettee Medal, the University of New Hampshire Alumni Association's highest honor, awarded in recognition of his accomplishments as a teacher and his contributions to our understanding of family dynamics.

"Dr. Straus epitomizes the kind of extraordinary achievement and distinguished service represented by the late Charles H. Pettee, for whom the medal is named, and we are proud to award it to him," says Karen Johnson '84, president of the Alumni Association. Pettee served UNH for 62 years as professor and dean until his death in 1938. Past recipients of the medal include astronaut Alan Shepard, former New Hampshire Governor John H. Sununu and television producer Marcy Carsey '66.

Straus was teaching at the University of Minnesota when he began the research on family behavior that became his life's work. It was there that he began conducting laboratory experiments in sociology. The idea probably occurred to him because of his department's proximity to the psychology department. The pervasive attitude is that "sociologists do surveys and psychologists do experiments," he says. "Most sociologists think the conditions in the lab are artificial. But I started developing a program of experimental research in sociology."

Straus came to the University of New Hampshire in 1968 and established the Family Violence Research Program, the precursor to the Family Research Laboratory, two years later. It was then that he began the series of studies that would make his reputation. His peers have recognized his achievements by electing him president of three scientific societies: the National Council on Family Relations, the Society for the Study of Social Problems and the Eastern Sociological Society.

"The world knows Straus for his research," says Kersti Yllo '77G, '80G, a sociology professor at Wheaton College. "But at UNH, he is known as a great teacher." Yllo studied with Straus as a graduate student and went on to earn her doctoral degree at UNH. "When I was a first-semester grad student, he stood out because he was so open and willing to talk to me," she says. "He had incredibly high expectations, and I couldn't believe how much work there was, but he totally supported us."

Straus makes every attempt to be available to his students despite a busy schedule of lectures and presentations around the world. Most of his teaching takes the form of apprenticeships for post-doctoral fellows and graduate students. However, he still teaches two graduate classes a year and advises up to 20 students, 15 of whom are undergraduates. When he is not in his office or the lab or traveling, he might be spotted zipping around campus on his Honda motor scooter, garbed in black helmet and raincoat.

Straus has spent his entire career "fastening on to what is odd," he says. "I'm a person who likes to deal with the unexpected--what isn't common sense. My whole career has been like that."

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