Charles B. Nam ’57 (MA), ’59 (PhD)
Charles Nam’s academic career was spent at Florida State University (FSU), where he served for more than 30 years as a professor of sociology. As a leader in the field, he made significant contributions toward the Nam-Powers Index, which was created to estimate the living conditions of a typical person in a particular occupation. His scholarship was disseminated in numerous books and journal articles and has been adopted by sociologists as one of the key measures of socioeconomic status.
A well-regarded academic, Nam was elected to several high-profile leadership roles during his career, including president of the Population Association of America, president of the Southern Sociological Society, and fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Among his many achievements, Nam founded the FSU Center for Demography and Population Health, which continues to thrive. He also chaired the Department of Sociology, served as editor of the journal Demography, and won numerous NIH and NSF grants. Beyond publishing and conducting funded research, Nam held major editorial roles at several high-impact journals. Perhaps most importantly, he was an award-winning teacher and mentor. He directed the academic programs of more than 80 graduate students, and his former students continue to serve as professors and government officials all over the world.
After retiring from Florida State, Nam has continued to write academic papers and books, and he published his first novel at age 80. He continues to serve the Tallahassee community as a genealogist, newsletter editor, and a teacher for seniors on topics such as influencing policy change, conducting demographic and genealogy research, and maintaining an active lifestyle.
