Joseph Stycos ’48

Joe was born in 1927 and grew up in Saugerties, N.Y. He died June 24, 2016, in Ithaca, N.Y.

He entered Princeton in the summer of 1944 and graduated in 1947 with honors in what was then the department of economics and social institutions. Joe earned a doctorate at Columbia and then began his career at Cornell, where he worked from 1957 to 2000. His entire professional career was at Cornell University — as a professor, researcher, author, and consultant on demography and other aspects of population studies.

He was an internationally recognized leader in his field, authoring half a dozen books and more than 150 articles about sociological aspects of demography, such as relations between populations and societies. His field-research and consultations commissioned by the U.S. and other governments, international agencies, and foundations — concentrated on Latin America, but included work in Africa and Asia.

We remember Joe from college days for his talent as a gifted pianist and comic raconteur in Prospect Club. He is survived by his wife, Maria Nowakowska Stycos, and their son, Marek; and son Stephen and daughter Kristina from an earlier marriage; six grandchildren; six nephews and nieces; and a great-grandson.