Devah Pager, Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, a groundbreaking scholar whose research shone a light on the consequences of discrimination, has passed away. The Harvard Kennedy School community mourns her loss.
Pager, who held appointments both at HKS and in the Sociology Department at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, was also the director of the Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy.
“Devah was known widely for her pathbreaking research and teaching on discrimination against members of minority groups and on the economic and social consequences of large-scale imprisonment,” said Dean Doug Elmendorf. “Her work was brilliant, and it showed her fierce commitment to using her impressive gifts and the tools of social science to help make the world a fairer and better place.”
“Devah was also known widely as one of the kindest and most generous people one could meet. She brought warmth, optimism, curiosity, and inspiration to her interactions with all of her many friends and students and colleagues. I loved my chances to interact with her, beginning with my first meeting with her when I came to the Kennedy School three years ago.”
“We have lost such an important member of our community at such a young age. We will miss Devah terribly.”
Pager leaves behind her husband Mike and young son Atticus.