 He is known for his research on the relation between organizations and their institutional environments.Born in Parsons, Kansas to Charles H. Scott and Hildegarde Hewil, Scott received his PhD from the University of Chicago under Peter Blau, and has received honorary doctorates from the Copenhagen School of Business (2000), the Helsinki School of Economics and Business (2001), and Aarhus University in Denmark (2010).Scott has spent his entire professional career at Stanford, serving as chair of the Sociology Department (1972–1975), as director of the Training Program on Organizations and Mental Health (1972–1989), and as director of the Stanford Center for Organizations Research (1988–1996).