Likert, co-founder and head of SRC, became the first director of ISR. An organizational psychologist and developer of the Likert Scale—a scale widely used in survey research— Likert also developed a system for identifying organizational styles, ranging from System 1—Exploitive Authoritative—to System 4—Participative Group. Likert was known for his support of interdisciplinary collaborations and emphasis on using social science research to effect positive change.

The Survey Research Center and the Research Center for Group Dynamics joined on Feb. 1 to form the Institute for Social Research, launching the nation’s leading academic laboratory for social science research. The new enterprise, said University of Michigan President Alexander Ruthven, would more effectively “bring to bear quantitative and experimental research methods on complex and important social problems.”