Tributes to Vincent Jeffries - Matthew T. Lee

​In 2012, Vince served as the inaugural Chair of the American Sociological Association's Section on Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity.  I worked closely with Vince in the early years of the formation of this Section and I can state with certainty that it would not exist without his tireless, behind-the-scenes efforts that unfolded over at least three years.  In fact, our first bid for Section status failed and we needed help from the ASA President at the time in order to have a second chance.  This resulted in "Morality" being added to the Section's name.  Vince's field-building vision -- and he led a group of esteemed authors on an article about the need for a new, coherent field that was published in The American Sociologist in 2006 -- inspired others like me to help with the effort to launch a Section-in-Formation, which eventually became a regular Section.  Vince was the heart and soul of the effort.  He anonymously subsidized graduate student memberships to help increase our numbers to meet the ASA's requirements, he co-edited the Section newsletter with me when I needed help, and he received the Section's Outstanding Published Book Award in 2015 for his field-building book, The Palgrave Handbook of Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity.


The common theme in all of this activity was Vince's heart of a servant, which traced back to his life-long interest in the virtues and how social contexts might better cultivate them.  Vince genuinely cared about the field, the section, the discipline of sociology, and especially the people who benefitted, and continued to benefit, from the creation of a new space to share our understanding of topics that connect to virtue.  There are of course downsides to (in-group) expressions of altruism, (unskillful) moralities, and (unhealthy) solidarities.  Vince did not turn a blind eye to the negative, which was why he opposed the rebranding of the Section as "Positive Sociology."  But he maintained an optimistic outlook that promoted the thoughtful practice of the virtues and held that social groups could always become more understanding, caring, and ultimately forces for the greater good.  I am grateful for the time I spent with Vince and for the generativity of his life, which continues on through the work of the students he taught, his scholarship, the ASA Section, and especially his friends.

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All the best,
Matt