Eliot Freidson was Professor Emeritus of Sociology in the Graduate School of Arts and Science of New York University. He received his undergraduate, M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. Professor Freidson is past Chairman of the Research Committee for Medical Sociology of the International Sociological Association; he has also served on scientific advisory boards for the Social Security Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Center for Health Services Research and Development.