 Upon receiving his doctorate in 1980, he joined the faculty of the University of Maine.Barkan served as president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)from 2008 to 2009, a position that has been held previously by such notables as Gary Alan Fine and Alvin Ward Gouldner.Barkan has chaired the SSSP's Law and Society Division and served as an editor of "Social Problems", the Society's journal.