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(1926-1985) Sociologist; Ph.D. Cornell University; a member of the Jesuit order during the 1950s and 1960s. Member of the Sociology Department at Fordham University, 1962-1970 (chair 1968-1970); Professor of Sociology and sometime Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, 1970-1985. President, American Catholic Sociological Society, 1969.

McNamara was a crucial figure in the transition of the ACSS to the Association for the Sociology of Religion. He served as book review editor of Sociological Analysis from 1964 to 1970 and, after his presidency, returned to serve as Executive Officer of the ASR from 1977 to 1984: "For some time, it almost seemed as if Bob was the ASR."

McNamara was keenly interested in his students and in student life. The ASR's annual Robert J. McNamara Award for an outstanding student paper is named in his honor.

—William H. Swatos, Jr .

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