Frederick Wherry *00 SPIA *04 SOC
Scholar, Educator, Creator
Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Inclusion; Director, Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellows Program; Townsend Martin, Class of 1917 Professor of Sociology, Princeton University
Fred Wherry works on issues of economic justice and founded the Debt Collection Lab to track debt-collection lawsuits, their uneven distribution across neighborhoods and their meaningful consequences in peoples’ lives. He is currently writing a book, “What Debtors Deserve” that examines the rise of mass debt, which now rivals mass incarceration in scale, and exposes the predatory tactics of debt collectors and the court system. Wherry established the Dignity + Debt Network to bring together scholars, social entrepreneurs and thought leaders who are concerned with the human values implicated in debt actions. He is the author, editor or co-editor of nine books, including “Credit Where It’s Due: Rethinking Financial Citizenship” (with Kristin Seefeldt and Anthony Alvarez), “The Oxford Handbook of Consumption” (with Ian Woodward) and “Money Talks” (with Nina Bandelj and Viviana Zelizer). Wherry was president of the Eastern Sociological Society and the Social Science History Association. Before returning to Princeton in 2017, he taught at Yale University, Columbia University and the University of Michigan.