Dr. Howard B. Kaplan was a Regents Professor, a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and the Mary Thomas Marshall Professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University. He received his PhD from New York University in 1958 and devoted his career to the study of social psychology, deviant behavior, social disorganization, and mental health.
He was internationally known and regarded as an expert in the area of deviance, social psychology and especially medical sociology. His reputation is demonstrated by his award of the American Sociological Association’s Leo G. Reeder Award for a career of distinguished contributions to medical sociology, the highest award that can be given in the area. This award honored his more than 50 years of research that made an indelible impact on the field of medical sociology as well as deviant behavior and social psychology.
Dr. Kaplan joined the Texas A&M Sociology Department in 1988 (coming from the Baylor School of Medicine in Houston) and established the Laboratory for Studies of Social Deviance at that time. In addition to directing a myriad of ongoing grants and associated studies, and mentoring graduate students, he regularly taught graduate seminars on social psychology and social deviance.
To give to the Howard Kaplan Memorial Scholarship, select the Department of Sociology and the Sociology Department Excellence Fund in the Texas A&M Foundation.