Winston, Sanford Richard, 1897-1969

Educator, writer, and sociologist. Sanford Richard Winston was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University from 1926 to 1931, and as full professor from 1961 to 1963. He served as head of the department from 1933 until his retirement in 1963.

Sanford Richard Winston was born on Long Island, New York on November 27, 1897. He received an A.B. degree from Western Reserve University, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Minnesota. He joined North Carolina State College as an assistant professor in 1926, and served as head of the Department of Sociology from 1933 until his retirement in 1963. Winston also taught courses at Peace College and Meredith College, among others.

Winston published widely in journals, and wrote several books and monographs on sociology, including Culture and Human Behavior and Leadership in Peace and War . He participated in a wide range of professional organizations as well as community groups. Winston served as president of the Southern Sociological Society and the Wake County Community Council, and was named a Fellow of the American Sociological Association. He was also a member of the Rural Sociological Society and the Archaeological Society of North Carolina, among other organizations.

A lifelong music lover, Winston was active in the Raleigh Chamber Music Guild, and served as its president from 1948 to 1950. Following his death on June 13, 1969, the S. R. Winston Fund was established to create a collection of music at D. H. Hill Library at North Carolina State University. Many of Winston's own books other materials were donated to the Library.

In a condolence note to Mrs. Winston, Horace Hamilton, a colleague of Winston's at North Carolina State, wrote, "Thousands of college students, taught by Professor Winston, will remember and appreciate his contribution to their understanding of how society is put together and what makes it tick."

Winston was married to Ellen Black Winston, a noted sociologist who served as Commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Public Welfare, and later served as U.S. Commissioner of Public Welfare from 1962 to 1967. Mrs. Winston died in 1984.