Donald Bogue, emeritus professor of sociology and research associate at the Population Research Center, is considered one of the most eminent demographers of his time. Over the course of his 64-year career, Bogue has made important contributions to the analysis of fertility and population growth, with particular focus on how social-structural and individual factors influence childbearing patterns. After arriving at the University in 1954, he helped pioneer population-based survey research on fertility, with his findings included in monographs such as Fertility and Family Planning in Metropolitan Latin America (Community and Family Study Center, University of Chicago, 1972). In fall 2004, Dialogo featured an interview with Bogue; at the time, he had a new book coming out and was teaching a course on migration. Seven years later, he is no less busy, writing a wide-ranging study of international migration. He hopes to complete the manuscript by next year. In March 2011 Bogue was honored twice: he received the Laureate Award from the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) and was named an honoree by the Population Association of America. To mark these accomplishments, Dialogo asked three of Bogue's former students for their memories of a scholar who shows little sign of slowing down nearly 60 years after his arrival at the University.  

Jane Bertrand, AM'73, PhD'76 (Sociology), Neal A. and Mary Vanselow Professor and Chair, Department of Global Health Systems and Development, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

Gearing up in Guatemala: Even before I graduated in 1976, Don involved me in research on the acceptance of family planning in Guatemala, which led to my career in international family planning and HIV/AIDS in Central America and sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, I am focused on HIV risk in Guatemala and family planning delivery in three francophone sub-Saharan locations. My time at Chicago allowed me to recognize the difference between a career in basic social science research and an applied career in public health. I knew as a student that I wanted to pursue the more applied route, so I decided on public health. From that first trip to Guatemala with Don, almost all my work has been directly relevant to programs at the field level in developing countries. No time to waste: I was always surprised by the whirlwind of activity in Don's office. He was a multitasker before the term was invented. One expected meetings to last only 10 to 15 minutes; he was far too busy for more. Self-effacing scholar: What I remember most about Don are his humility and his modesty. He was an intellectual powerhouse and a prolific researcher across multiple topics, yet he never sought out the spotlight. He pushed for acceptance of the ideas that he believed in based on his research, such as the influence of ideational change and the provision of family planning services in reducing fertility. Anticipate overtime: Don set the standard for clear, crisp writing that helped make complex ideas understandable. I think of him when I struggle to do the same. And I often think of an insight he once gave me that has proven true: you don't write journal articles during the 9 to 5 workweek. Evident impact: Don has been a supporter and a cheerleader through the three and a half decades since I graduated. With his characteristic modesty, he has refused to accept credit for any of our accomplishments, even when they emanated so directly from the training we received from him.  

Amy Ong Tsui, PhD'77 (Sociology), Professor and Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute of Population and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Data crunching before Apple II: My dissertation was on marriage cohort differentials in US childbearing patterns using the Current Population Survey data. This was pre-mini or personal computers. All of the work was done on the mainframe, either with Fortran code or SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) analyses. Fortunately, two years of research assistantship with Don and his staff prepared me well for this task. And I of course learned much about my dissertation topic from Don. Conference in Kampala: In my current position at Johns Hopkins, I direct an institute funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2009 our institute led the organization of an international conference on family planning held in Kampala, Uganda. We are currently repeating this in Dakar, Senegal. The Kampala conference, attended by more than 1,200 participants, has been held up as a landmark and game-changing event for the continent. Don taught me not only to pursue my intellectual interests to the hilt but also to be undeterred by challenges. Knowledge sharing: After finishing my PhD, I worked with Don at the Community and Family Study Center, analyzing fertility and family planning data and projecting national, regional, and world population growth. A number of researchers came in and out for meetings on different subjects. One particular idea that Don developed ended up being included in a UN report by one of those visitors. I was surprised at what I perceived to be hijacked intellectual property and mentioned this to Don. His response was a simple shrug and, "There're more ideas where that came from." I'll never forget this statement of selfless scholarship. Dedicated to demography: A group of us from the late 1970s continues to meet with Don at the annual meetings of the Population Association of America. Being able to regroup annually is like going home for dinner but with your intellectual parent. At our last gathering in April 2011, we acclaimed his remarkable endurance and productivity as a researcher—I think Donald Bogue has published as much or more since his retirement from active status than before. And he remains ever the humble and embracing scholar I know.  

Michael White, AM'77, PhD'80 (Sociology), Professor in the Department of Sociology and Director of the Population Studies and Training Center, Brown University

Navigating Nigeria: In academia, where pomp often reigns, Don Bogue was refreshingly unassuming and good-humored. For instance, I once tagged along with him to Nigeria, where we conducted a workshop. It was my first trip out of North America. I was mystified, irritated, and unnerved with all the issues of making our way in Nigeria in that era; he took it all in stride, most often with a chuckle. Keypunch, clean, review, transfer, repeat: I wrote my dissertation on the US urban renewal program and its effect on the fabric of several large cities. It was the late 1970s, and I was working at the former University of Chicago Community and Family Study Center as part of Don's staff. While Don was very invested in international demography at the time, he never lost sight of US urban issues. We spent years translating old neighborhood census data into digital format. Data from published US Census volumes were compiled via keypunching onto thousands of 80-column cards. Once cleaned and reviewed, the cards were transferred to reels of magnetic tape. I used this data in my dissertation, combining it with newer census data already released in digital form by the Census Bureau. Taking off: I arrived at the U of C with a US-based research agenda. My experience at the University, with Don, with Chicago Community and Family Study Center staff and colleagues, and with summer and academic-year students from other countries, broadened my perspective. I fought off traveling overseas during much of my graduate training, but once my dissertation was in hand, I agreed to participate in that Nigeria workshop. Something took: I still work in Africa—along with the United States and other places—now. Proof perfect: I recall Don saying with reference to a very distinguished, and very theoretically oriented, academic contemporary of his, "you've got to get out of your office once in a while." Don had a "show-me" attitude toward research results. Whenever I'm in the field—finally out of the office myself—or rechecking a computer result, I am reminded of his influence. Hexadecimal heyday: It took me a long while, but I now call him "Don." Every time I pick up an IBM punch card or do hexadecimal arithmetic—I say that with a wink—I am reminded of our work at the center. And most significant of all to me, I've introduced him to several of my students as my mentor.