Dr. Gordon De Jong, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Demography, has recieved the College of the Liberal Arts' Emeritus Distinction Award. This award recognizes outstanding emeritus faculty in the College.
De Jong joined Penn State in 1963 as an assistant professor of sociology, was promoted to full professor in 1972. He served as acting head of the Department of Sociology in 1979-1980. He was named designated Distinguished Professor in 1991. He has been a catalyst in developing Penn State into one of the premiere national and international institutions for demographic research and training. In 1972 he was co-founder of the Population Issues Research Center, now the Population Research Institute, of which he served as Director in 1974-76 and 1982-88. In 1987 he was founder and until 2013 served as continuing Director of the Graduate Program in Demography at Penn State, one of the largest and highly ranked demographic training programs in the U.S.