Don A. Dillman, professor emeritus of sociology and one of Washington State University’s longest-serving and most distinguished faculty members, passed away on June 14, 2024, at the age of 82 and following an extraordinary 55-year career. He joined the WSU faculty in 1969 and retired this past January.
A celebration of life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 23, at the Simpson United Methodist Church in Pullman, Washington. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube for those unable to attend in person.
An internationally recognized expert, Don was a sought-after survey design consultant for government statistical agencies and private organizations around the world. His investigations into how different visual languages (words, graphics, symbols, and numbers) independently and collectively influence answers to survey questions helped establish standards and best practices that changed how researchers everywhere conduct surveys.
His study of and experimentation with visual design and social exchange theory led to better user experiences, increased response rates, and higher quality data from surveys sent out by organizations and governments worldwide, including the likes of the National Science Foundation, Gallup, and Nielson.
As the senior survey methodologist for the U.S. Bureau of the Census in the early 1990s, he provided leadership for the development of new questionnaire designs and procedures for the decennial census and other government surveys. His methodologies have been used for censuses in Japan, Australia, Canada, and China, as well as for sample surveys in dozens of other countries.
His first book, the highly successful Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method, was published in 1978. The fourth edition, retitled Internet, Phone, Mail and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (2014), integrates award-winning work by Don and his graduate students on a highly effective “web-push” methodology and best practices to address response differences between visual and aural presentation.
For the entirety of his career at WSU, Don held a unique dual appointment with two complementary units: the Department of Sociology and what is now the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center (SESRC). He taught classes at every level, served as the dissertation chair for 30 PhD students, and mentored countless peers and other students. His most recent research efforts focused on gaining a better theoretical understanding of why people do and do not respond to surveys.
“I think we have an obligation to try to do things that improve society and the world,” Dillman said in a 2019 article celebrating his five decades of survey innovation. At his recent retirement celebration, Don spoke of still waking up every day curious about what new questions he might have the opportunity to pursue.
Don’s autobiography, You Have Been Randomly Selected, delves into his early years growing up on a farm, contracting polio, and the unusual early career circumstances that taught him to embrace change and eventually led to his pivotal work in survey methodology.
Don’s many professional honors included:
- WSU Regents Distinguished Professor
- WSU Eminent Faculty Award
- WSU Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Research
- American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow
- American Statistical Association fellow
- Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Federal Statistics.
- Rural Sociology Society Distinguished Rural Sociologist
- American Association of Public Opinion Research Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement Award
- European Survey Research Association Outstanding Service Award
- World Association for Public Opinion Research Helen Dinerman Award
Celebrating his legacy
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests his memory may be honored by making a contribution to the WSU Don Dillman Graduate Fellowship, the WSU Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections (MASC) Development Fund, or a charity that is meaningful to you.
Cards may be sent to the WSU Department of Sociology and will be forwarded to Don’s family. The office address is PO Box 644020; Washington State University; Pullman, WA 99164.
More about Don, his life, and his life’s work
- In Loving Memory: Don Dillman obituary (2024)
- 100 years of sociology at WSU and sociology’s future (presentation by Don Dillman, Oct. 2023)
- Asked and answered: 50 years of survey innovation (WSU News, 2019)
- Innovative approach ignites survey industry (WSU News, 2017)
- Going postal (Washington State Magazine, 2017)
- The survey expert (Washington State Magazine, 2009)