ANN ARBOR—Ron A. Astor, assistant professor of social work and education at the University of Michigan, has received the Palmer O. Johnson Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) for outstanding primary research.

Astor, along with recent U-M doctoral degree graduates Heather A. Meyer and William J. Behre, were honored for their article “Unowned Places and Times: Maps and Interviews about Violence in High Schools.” The article appeared in the spring 1999 issue of the American Educational Research Journal.

The award, established in 1967, is given each year for the best article appearing in any of the six academic journals published by the AERA. It is named in honor of Palmer O. Johnson, an educator and pioneer in educational research and methodology.

Astor holds a doctorate in human development/school psychology from the University of California-Berkeley and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California. His research interests include school and peer violence, poverty and violence, and sociocultural linkages to violence.

Meyer will be a postdoctoral fellow this fall at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College and Behre is now an assistant professor at the College of New Jersey.

Ron A. AstorUnowned Places and Times: Maps and Interviews about Violence in High Schools