William W. Reeder papers

William Woodland Reeder, Professor of Rural Sociology, Emeritus, served as a member of the Cornell University faculty from 1949-76. His lifelong passion was delving into the beliefs, disbeliefs, and social actions that he felt were the essential determinants of why individuals and groups behave as they do. He passed away on April 2, 1999 in Logan, Utah, his home after retirement from Cornell. After his birth in Robin, Idaho, on March 26, 1911, his family moved to Brigham City, Utah, where he grew up on a dairy farm. There he learned the values of hard work and commitment to rigorous schedules and came to appreciate the importance of an education. After high school, he attended Utah State University where he completed a B.S. degree in Sociology in 1935 and a Master’s degree in 1937. In 1939, he enrolled at Cornell University to pursue a Ph.D. degree program in Rural Sociology.