Patricia Leavy, a sociologist who is widely regarded as the leading proponent of arts-based research, was presented with the Special Achievement Award from the American Creativity Association. She was honored for her working merging the creative arts with scientific and social research in order to make the research more accessible to the public. Dr. Leavy is the first sociologist to win the award.
Until 2012 when she left the academic world to devote all her energies to research and writing, Dr. Leavy was an associate professor and head of the gender studies program at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. She is the author or editor of 16 books including Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice (Guilford Publications, 2009) and The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research (Oxford University Press, 2014).
Dr. Leavy holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from Boston College.