From the ASA Sociologists Working Everywhere Community:

SWE Spotlight Speaker Series:
"The Sociologist as NSF Program Director"

From 2022 through 2024, Enrique S. Pumar, PhD, served as the Inaugural Program Director of the Build & Broaden Program in the Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences Directory of the US National Science Foundation (NSF). In this presentation, Dr. Pumar will discuss the roles and responsibilities of program directors in research funding agencies and how he leveraged his sociological training, particularly in research and evaluation methodologies, to manage programs during his tenure at NSF. He will demonstrate the value of applying an interdisciplinary approach and a process-oriented strategy to manage the program scope, implementation cycle, and goal attainment. He will also discuss best management practices from other foundations. Dr. Pumar is currently a Fay Boyle Endowed Professor at Santa Clara University.

The series focuses on today’s applied sociology in industry, government, and non-profit settings. The speakers will illustrate how expertise in sociological methods and training in disciplinary theories are valuable in these applied settings. The series is open to the public but may be of special interest to sociologists in academia who are curious about alternative career paths and to sociology graduate and undergraduate students who seek insights on their range of job options.

Register for this session on Zoom