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Odum History

Our History

Howard W. Odum with one of his cows
Founder Dr. Howard W. Odum with one of his prize-winning cows.

Howard Washington Odum arrived at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1920 as the Kenan Professor of Sociology to direct the School of Public Welfare, and the Department of Sociology.  On June 30th, 1924, the Institute for Research in Social Science was organized at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the oldest university-based interdisciplinary social science research institute in the United States. 

Founded for the “cooperative study of problems in the general field of social science, arising out of state and regional conditions,” the IRSS has played a leading role in the development of innovative methods and research topics in the South and beyond.

Begun as a cooperative endeavor to address the social and economic problems of the South, it became a national center in the 1950s by implementing…

  • Many of the approaches to the study of human behavior
  • Newer methods of research
  • Quantitative techniques all of which had been initiated during WWII and had developed rapidly in the following decade

From a somewhat autonomous research institute, it has gradually developed into a facilitating center, oriented towards supporting social science endeavors. Spinning off several thematic institutes such as the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, it has maintained a generalized breadth of interests.

Today, the Institute carries on his legacy both in name and in its commitment to supporting social science
research in service to society.  The Institute provides critical training, consultation and tools for statistical computing, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, grant management and survey research.  Moving forward, the Institute will continue to be driven by a mission to lead a world-class social science research infrastructure at UNC-Chapel Hill to ensure that researchers can conduct scientifically rigorous research that contributes to better lives for the citizens of North Carolina and the world.

Portrait of Howard W Odum
Howard Odum sits in his “famous” office in the UNC Alumni Building. Much like his home office, it was covered in books and papers that he didn’t allow anyone to reorganize.
“This was a famous scene,” writes Katharine Jocher on the back of this photo. Odum leads his Regionalism Lab on the top floor of the Alumni Building in the 1930s.
Odum with one of his bulls. I photo courtesy of University Archives

To read about some more milestones from our 100 year journey,
visit this endeavors article from the archives:

A Father for Social Science