Glenna Dean Spitze (1949- ) was born in Madison, Wisconsin. The daughter of Hazel Taylor and Robert Spitze, she was raised in Champaign, IL, after her mother and father were both hired at the University of Illinois. She received her bachelor's in sociology from the University of Illinois in 1971. After attending a masters degree program at the University of California Berkeley in 1972, she returned to the University of Illinois, earning both her master's (1975) and PhD (1979) in sociology. While she was a student at the University of Illinois, Spitze was active in many choral music ensembles. She sang in two ensembles that were directed by Neely Bruce, the American Music Group and the Contemporary Music Group. During her tenure in these ensembles, Spitze sang in the University of Illinois' premieres of Gertude Stein and Virgil Thomson's "Four Saints in Three Acts" and George Bristow's "Rip Van Winkle." In addition, she helped premier several pieces by Ben Johnston, Lou Harrison, Kenneth Gaburo, William Brooks, William Duckworth, and John Cage. While studying at Illinois, she also attended several performances given by students and associates of Herbert Brün.
After earning a doctoral dissertation grant from the Department of Labor (1977-1979), Spitze wrote a dissertation entitled, "Work Commitment Among Young Women: Its Relation to Labor, Force Participation, Marriage, and Childbearing." In 1979 she was hired as an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Albany, SUNY. She received tenure in 1984 and chaired the department from 1997 until 2000. In 1991, she became a joint faculty member in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program. In 2002, she earned the title of Distinguished Service Professor. After retiring in 2013, she served as O'Leary Professor until 2014.
Spitze is the author of four books and over 70 articles on the subjects of aging families, household labor, and divorce. Her 1996 book Family Ties: Enduring Relations between Parents and Their Grown Children, was the recipient of the Goode Distinguished Book Award, sponsored by the American Sociological Association. Spitze also served on the editorial boards of eleven journals in the field of sociology.
Sources:Glenna Spitze, Vita in "Work Commitment Among Young Women: Its Relation to Labor Force Participation, Marriage, and Childbearing" (PHD Dissertation, University of Illinois, 1979).
Glenna Spitze, Curriculum Vitae, SUNY Albany: https://www.albany.edu/sites/default/files/resumes/Spitze_CV_%205-11-20.pdf
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