Ronald S. Burt

Ronald S. Burt is the Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He is most notable for his research and writing on social networks and social capital, particularly the concept of structural holes in a social network.

He is the author of several books on sociology, organization behavior and network analysis, including "Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition" (Harvard University Press, 1992) and "Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital" (Oxford University Press, 2005). His research has been published in numerous academic journals, including "Administrative Science Quarterly", "American Journal of Sociology", "Journal of Organization Behavior", "Organization Science", "Social Networks", "Sociological Inquiry", and others.

Burt earned his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 1971, his M.A. in Sociology from The State University of New York at Albany in 1973, and his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago in 1977.

Prior to joining the University of Chicago in 1990, he was Professor of Sociology at Columbia University. He is also the former Shell Professor of Human Resources at INSEAD and has held various organizational development positions at Raytheon. Burt is also a public speaker.

In 1993 Burt was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He currently resides in the Chicago metropolitan area.