Fellow of The Society

Fellow status recognizes SSSS members whose work reflects unusual and outstanding contributions to the scientific study of sexuality. Such contributions include rigorous, formal inquiry that advances generalizable knowledge in the field.

The nomination period is open from January 1 - March 15 every other year (in alternate years from the Outstanding Theoretical Paper Award).

Selection Deadline

The nomination material is reviewed by the three-person Scientific Achievement Subcommittee. The Committee Chair and members of the Subcommittee are not eligible to be named a Fellow. The Subcommittee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors for final approval. If a member of the Board is nominated for Fellow in that year, that Board member will abstain from the vote. A SSSS member can be named a Fellow based on unusual and outstanding contribution to the scientific study of sex, defined as formal investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.

Selection Process

Nominee Requirements

Nominations are welcome from any SSSS member. Self-nominations are welcome.

A nominee must be a SSSS member for three consecutive years immediately preceding the year of their nomination.

A nominee must hold an advanced degree from a recognized college, university, or other institution of higher education.

A nominee must have five years of professional experience in sexual science since the granting of their advanced degree, and must be actively engaged, at the time of their nomination, in the advancement of the scientific study of sexuality.

The nominator bears responsibility for recruiting individuals who support the nomination and for collecting and submitting the complete evidence file for the nominee.

The nominator must complete an online form and attach the following documents:

  • Nominee's current CV

  • Two letters of support from SSSS members. If the nomination is not a self-nomination, one letter can come from the nominator. The letters of support can be from two SSSS members or from a SSSS committee and one additional SSSS member. 

Primary Review Criteria

  • Scholarly productivity (with recognition that "productivity" looks different depending upon context (e.g., a large collaborative research lab versos a faculty member who works with just a few graduate students), and format (e.g., articles versus books)

  • Impact of the nominee's body of scholarly work (including citations by other researchers and impact on policy/practice

  • The extent to which the nominee acknowledges, includes, values, and/or amplifies diverse voices and strengths in sex science


Secondary Review Criteria

The following secondary criteria will be used if the Subcommittee cannot come to consensus based on the primary criteria:

  • Advancement of sexual science through non-scholarly activity such as conducting and organizing workshops, offices held in relevant associations, or political and legislative activity

  • Mentorship of junior scholars

  • History of active involvement in SSSS

Review and Evaluation

In the year an individual is named a Fellow of The Society, they receive:

  • Commemorative plaque

  • Complimentary conference registration

  • Invitation to give a "Fellows Talk" during a concurrent session of the Annual Conference that highlights their recent scholarly work.

Award

Further Information About the Award

Fellows must report a large body of scholarly work and demonstrate that their work has had impact on the work of others. The number and quality of publications should be equal, for example, to that of a full professor at a research-intensive university. Citation of the applicant’s work by others can be an important indicator of the impact of his/her contributions. Accumulation of impact, and performance over time, must be demonstrated. 

Although conducting and organizing workshops, offices held in relevant associations, or political and legislative activity are not in themselves evidence of outstanding contribution to the scientific study of sexuality, such activities may be considered secondarily as evidence of the nominee’s commitment to advancing the field of sexuality research. 

Fellows should function as scholarly leaders in SSSS and are expected to use their expertise to promote and advance the next generation of sexuality scholars through that involvement. For example, because of their scholarly expertise, Fellows are ideal to serve on a Subcommittee for the awards and grants, review abstracts for the Annual Conference, volunteer their time during an event for the Mentorship Program and/or Continuing Education E-Learning Program, bring their students and mentees to the SSSS Annual Conference, and more.

Up to two Fellows may be named each year, although there is no requirement to name a Fellow in any given year. Individuals who are nominated but not awarded Fellow status in a given year may be considered for Fellow status in future years. 

Active and Emeritus Fellows
Fellows of The Society are only “current” for as long as they maintain an active membership in SSSS. “Emeritus Fellows” are Fellows who are retired or deceased and are no longer maintaining an active membership (but were in good standing at the time of retirement or death). All “current” and “Emeritus” Fellows of The Society are listed on the SSSS website as an “Active Member” of The Society.

Inactive Fellow
Fellows of The Society that do not continue their membership will be listed on the website, but not as an active member. Fellow status can be removed by a majority vote of the Board of Directors in cases of confirmed scientific misconduct or serious breaches of professional ethics, including sexual misconduct or other forms of discrimination (see SSSS Values and Expectations).

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Fellows of the Society

Gene G. Abel, MD 
Peter Anderson, PhD*  
David Bimbi, PhD  
Walter Bockting, PhD*  
Sandra Byers, PhD*  
Joseph Catania, PhD*  
Meredith Chivers, PhD*  
Eli Coleman, PhD*  
Edward Dengrove, MD  
Aaron Devor, PhD  
Brian Dodge, PhD  
Anke Ehrhardt, PhD  
Frank Farley, PhD*  
William Fisher, PhD*  
Terri Fisher, PhD  
J. Dennis Fortenberry, PhD* 
Suzanne Frayser, PhD  
William George, PhD  
Cynthia Graham, PhD*  
Christian Grov, PhD, MPH*
Elaine Hatfield, PhD  
Julia Heiman, PhD

Debby Herbenick, PhD MPH, CSE*
Ed Herold, PhD  
Charles L. Ihlenfeld, MD 
Kristen N. Jozkowski, PhD
Richard Keeling, MD  
Robert C. Kolodny, MD 
Osmo Kontula, PhD*  
Stanley Krippner, PhD*  
Edward Laumann, PhD 
Roger W. Libby, PhD 
Ilsa Lottes, PhD  
Cindy M. Meston, PhD 
June M. Reinisch, PhD 
Eleanor Maticka -Tyndale, PhD 
Tom Mazur, PsyD*  
Naomi McCormick, PhD*  
Marta Meana, PhD  
Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, Dr.rer.nat*  
Robin Milhausen, PhD*  
Charlene Muehlenhard, PhD*  
Daniel L. Mosher, PhD 
Lucia F. O’Sullivan, PhD* 

Michael Perelman, PhD*
Zoë D. Peterson, PhD*
Michael Reece, PhD, MPH 
Ira L. Reiss, PhD* 
Carol Rinklieb Ellison, PhD 
Bean Robinson, PhD*  
Margaret Rosario, PhD*  
Raymond Rosen, PhD  
Simon Rosser, PhD  
Janet S. Hyde, PhD* 
Stephanie Sanders, PhD*  
Pepper Schwartz, PhD  
James Sobrino, PhD  
Leonore Tiefer, PhD  
Douglas H. Wallace, PhD 
Michael Wallace Ross, PhD, MPH
Eric Walsh-Buhi, MPH, PhD*
Connie Christine Wheeler, PhD 
Beverly Whipple, RN, PhD* 
Colin Williams, PhD  
William Yarber, HSD*  
Michael Young, PhD*

* = Active Member

Emeritus Fellows of the Society

Elizabeth Rice Allgeier, PhD
John Bancroft, MD
Vern L. Bullough, PhD
Donn Byrne, PhD
Sandra S. Cole, PhD
Clive M. Davis, PhD
John D. DeLamater, PhD
Milton Diamond, PhD
Albert Ellis, PhD
Marilyn Fithian, PhD
Robert Francoeur, PhD
Robert Friar, PhD
John Gagnon, PhD
Paul Gebhard, PhD.
Kenneth D. George, EdD
Edwin J. Haeberle, PhD, EdD
William E. Hartman, PhD
Preben Hertoft, MD
Patricia Barthalow Koch, PhD
Sandra Leiblum, PhD
Harold I. Lief, MD
Joseph LoPiccolo, PhD
Floyd Martinson, PhD
William Masters, MD
David McWhirter, MD
John Money, PhD
Wardell Pomeroy, PhD
Bean Robinson, PhD
Leah Cahan Schaeffer, EdD
Hirsch L. Silverman, PhD
William Stayton, ThD, PhD  
Donald Strassberg, PhD
David Weis, PhD