'Tremendous Loss' Of Respected UC Berkeley Retired Professor

BERKELEY, CA — A well-known 77-year-old University of California, Berkeley sociology professor was killed in a hit-and-run collision while crossing the street near Oakland's Lake Merritt on Monday.

Police said retired professor Michael Burawoy was in a marked crosswalk at Grand Avenue and Park View Terrace in the Adams Point neighborhood just before 7:15 p.m. when he was hit by a vehicle headed west on Grand Avenue.

The driver fled after the collision, police said.

Paramedics responded to the scene and took Burawoy to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

No other details were released by police.

Upon learning of his death, friends, former students, colleagues and admirers went online to share memories and mourn the beloved sociologist.

Burawoy "dedicated 47 years of his life to Berkeley, contributing immeasurably to the discipline, transforming the fields of labor, ethnography and theory," according to a social media post by Raka Ray, dean of UC Berkeley's Division of Social Sciences.

Ray said Burawoy was past president of the American Sociological Association and the International Sociological Association, the author of many scholarly books and a mentor and inspiration to thousands of students whose lives he changed with his "fierce intellect and kindness."

"This is a tremendous loss for me personally, to our Social Sciences community, UC Berkeley, and to sociologists worldwide," Ray said.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run can call the Oakland Police Department Traffic Investigation Unit at (510) 777-8570. People can send videos and photos to cidvideos@oaklandca.gov.

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