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Francesco Billari in the European Academy of Sociology

, by Fabio Todesco, translated by Alex Foti
The Bocconi demographer was nominated fellow by the 33 members of the scientific association, which promotes the highest standards in social research across Europe. In light of the crisis, the need for a more rigorous approach to sociology has grown

Francesco Billari, Full Professor of Demography at Bocconi, was nominated fellow of the European Academy of Sociology, an association of scholars founded by Raymond Boudon to promote the most rigorous standards in this social science.

Access to the Academy is subordinated to rigorous methodological scrutiny of candidates, so much that in Europe there currently are only 33 members. Nomination exclusively occurs through co-optation.

"The quality of European sociology is highly variable," says the Academy in its mission statement. "As a consequence the discipline's status has declined as well as its ability to attract talented students and faculty. To turn the tide, the sociological community must develop rigorous self-regulating standards that help the general public, policy makers, and prospective students to identify research and teaching programs of a high quality."

Prof Billari is Director of the Dondena Center for Research on Social Dynamics at Bocconi. He holds degrees from Bocconi and the University of Padua, and before joining the Bocconi faculty, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, and at the Catholic University of Milan. He spent a recent sabbatical as Distinguished Research Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. He is secretary-general and treasurer of the European Association for Population Studies, as well as editor-in-chief of Advances in Life Course Research.

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