Melvin Seeman

Melvin (Mef) Seeman, 101, passed away peacefully at his home in Malibu, California, on Jan. 31, 2020. A Professor Emeritus of Sociology at UCLA, Mef was best known for his foundational contributions to the empirical study of alienation. He served as Department Chair in Sociology, and as President of the Pacific Sociological Association. In 1991 he was awarded the American Sociological Association's prestigious Cooley-Mead Award for contributions to social psychology. From 1988 until very recently Mef was a special advisor to the Academic Vice Chancellor at UCLA, helping out with the Committee on Academic Performance and managing especially delicate and difficult academic personnel matters. In 2014, for his academic and administrative contributions, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the UCLA Emeriti Association. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of immigrants from Galicia, he survived the Great Depression by selling the Baltimore Sun on street corners with his three brothers, and spent WW II performing civilian public service as a Conscientious Objector. After the war he married his beloved wife Alice; they shared a love for dancing, Maryland blue crab, opera, limericks in French, and a glass of wine on the terrace at sunset. He is survived by a brother, Sam; two children, Paul and Teresa; a grandchild, Dan; and a great-grandchild due in May.