University of Wisconsin-Madison emeritus professor Gene Summers received the Distinguished Rural Sociologist award from the Rural Sociological Society at its 1999 annual meeting in Chicago this August.

The award, the most prestigious honor presented by the Society, recognizes individuals for career accomplishments in research, teaching, outreach and public policy.

Summers was honored for his passionate commitment to and concern about rural people and rural communities. The Society singled out Summers for his role in leading its Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty. The effort informed policy makers and the public about rural poverty and possible solutions, and resulted in the Pathways from Poverty state programs.

The award also recognized Summers” leadership in launching the UW-Madison Land Tenure Center”s North American program. That program studies how land ownership patterns influence America”s rural communities.

Summers is a former president of the Rural Sociological Society, which represents more than 1,000 professional sociologists. He has been a member of the Department of Rural Sociology in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences since 1970. The College honored Summers in 1995 for outstanding teaching.