The academic community at UC Berkeley and beyond is mourning the loss of Michael Burawoy, a noted professor emeritus of sociology, following a fatal hit-and-run incident in Oakland. According to CBS News, the 77-year-old professor was struck by a vehicle on Monday evening as he crossed the street at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Park View Terrace near Lake Merritt. Burawoy was walking in a marked crosswalk when an oncoming vehicle heading west on Grand Avenue hit him and fled. He was transported to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The Oakland Police Department has yet to identify a suspect or the suspect vehicle in connection with the collision, and the department is calling on the public to provide any information that might aid in the investigation. The scholarly contributions of Burawoy, who authored 12 books and over 120 publications, were impactful within UC Berkeley and around the world, shaping the discipline through his commitment to public sociology, which seeks to intersect academia with the broader societal discourse. In 2023, following his retirement, he was honored with the establishment of the Burawoy Chair's Endowment for Sociology at UC Berkeley, acknowledging his nearly five decades of teaching and service.

The Mercury News highlighted the reaction of the university's Dean of Social Sciences, Raka Ray, who described Burawoy's death as "an unimaginable loss". His legacy, Ray noted, extended beyond his scholarly work into the lives he fundamentally changed through his teaching and mentorship. Burawoy's influence reached across continents, from the copper mines in Zambia, machine shops in Chicago and Hungary, and a rubber plant and furniture factory in post-Soviet Russia.