Making the Case for the Socially Relevant Social Scientist

Abstract

In the twenty-first century, the role and possibilities of academics could not be more significant. As such, social relevance must be inextricably linked to our goal and work as academics, thinkers, and scholars. The purpose of this article is to put forth and highlight the socially relevant social scientist as a viable and necessary component of the academic enterprise. In particular, we highlight three functions meaningful to the socially relevant social scientist: genre flexibility, social street credibility, and relational research. The article also addresses graduate education and tenure and promotion as two areas greatly in need of revisiting to cultivate and sustain socially relevant social scientists.