Dalton Conley is University Professor of the Social Sciences and the Chair of the Department of Sociology at New York University. Conley is best known for his contributions to understanding how socioeconomic status is transmitted across generations. A frequent contributor to many journals, Conley has written several books including Being Black, Living in the Red, The Starting Gate: Birth Weight and Life Chances (with Kate Strully and Neil G. Bennett), The Pecking Order, his sociological memoir Honky, and the forthcoming Elsewhere, USA. Conley's work has also appeared in Salon.com, Forbes and the New York Times. In 2005, Conley became the first sociologist to win the National Science Foundation's Alan T. Waterman Award.

The University Professorship Lecture series was established to recognize faculty who have recently been appointed as University Professors at NYU. The title is conferred upon outstanding scholars in recognition of the interdisciplinary dimension and breadth of their work. The contributions to the University community of the NYU faculty who hold the title of University Professor typically lie somewhat outside the system of traditional disciplinary recognition and reward.