Gerald Dale Suttles (1932–2017) was an American urban sociologist.
Gerald Suttles was born in North Carolina to parents Gertrude and Berlin Suttles. He served in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1955 before attending Reed College. Suttles earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. While researching his first book, Suttles moved to what became the Tri-Taylor area of Chicago's Near West Side, where he lived for three years. ''The Social Order of the Slum'' was published in 1968, and won the
C. Wright Mills Award
The C. Wright Mills Award is a distinction awarded annually by the Society for the Study of Social Problems to the author of the book that "best exemplifies outstanding social science research and a great understanding the individual and society in ...
Gordon J. Laing Award
The Gordon J. Laing Award is conferred annually, by the University of Chicago's Board of University Publications, on the faculty author, editor, or translator whose book has brought the greatest distinction to the list of the University of Chicago ...
in 1970. Suttles began teaching at the University of Chicago in 1967. He left Chicago for a position at
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
in 1971. Suttles returned to Chicago in 1976. In 1993, the
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...
bestowed upon Suttles its Robert and Helen Lynd Award for Lifetime Achievement. He remained on Chicago's faculty until retirement in 1997. Suttles and his wife
Kirsten Gronbjerg
Kirsten is both a given name and a surname.
Given name
Kirsten is a female given name. It is a Scandinavian form of the names Christina and Christine.Bloomington, Indiana, where Suttles accepted an adjunct professorship at Indiana University. He died in Bloomington on May 11, 2017. His "Ethnobiography," ''A Journey Through Social Change: From the Mountains of Western North Carolina to the Slums of Chicago'', edited by