Van Hook to lead data resources unit
Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) recently announced that Jennifer Van Hook, distinguished professor of sociology and demography, will become the new director of its Data Resources Hub (DRH), effective July 1. Van Hook, who is also an SSRI cofunded faculty member and…
Faculty panel to discuss migration, asylum and refugee experience on April 16
The Penn State College of Arts and Architecture’s Woskob Family Gallery, located at 146 S. Allen Street in downtown State College, will host a cross-disciplinary faculty panel to discuss the current migration landscape, asylum and refugee law and on-the-ground advocacy efforts on April 16 at 4 p.m…
Thiede named new PRI director
Brian Thiede, associate professor of rural sociology, sociology, and demography, has been named the director of the Population Research Institute (PRI) at Penn State. PRI is a multidisciplinary research center at Penn State that promotes innovative population research. Part of the Social Science…
New website shares data on the immigrant population
In the United States, immigrants without permanent residence comprise nearly one-third of the adult and child population born abroad. It is important to assess their health and service needs, yet little is known about the demographics of this group. A new website developed by Penn State researchers…
Ending birthright citizenship would impact Asians and Latinos most, study finds
Established in 1868 with the ratification of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, birthright citizenship grants citizenship to all persons born on U.S. soil regardless of the parents’ citizenship status. If birthright citizenship is ended, the number of children born without a defined legal…
Ending Automatic Birthright Citizenship Would Significantly Increase the Size of the U.S. Unauthorized Population, New Projections Show
Ending birthright citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil to unauthorized immigrants or certain other non-citizens would have a contrary result from its stated aim of reducing the unauthorized immigrant population. New estimates from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and Penn State’s Population…
Thiede featured at PopTalks on climate shocks in population research
Megatrends met migration patterns as we launched the all-new PopTalks conversation series, hosted by Columbia’s own Thoai Ngo and featuring Brian Thiede of the Population Research Institute (PRI) at Penn State. On February 17, 2025, nearly 130 in-person and virtual attendees gathered for a spirited…
PRI T32 Postdoctoral Positions Available
SSRI's Population Research Institute (PRI) anticipates openings for two T32 Postdoctoral Scholars, one NICHD-funded trainee in Social Environments and Population Health, and another NIA-funded trainee in Emerging Disparities in Population Health. Owing to sponsor requirements, applicants…
Ask an expert: Immigration and the 2024 presidential election
Immigration remains a top concern for American voters, and a topic fueling much debate in the news and on social media. Penn State News spoke with Jennifer Van Hook, distinguished professor of sociology and demography and director of SSRI's Population Research Institute, about immigration and the…
19th annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography taking place Oct. 15
Dean Spears, associate professor of economics at the University of Texas-Austin, will be presenting the 19th annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography on Oct. 15, 9 a.m.-noon, in the HUB-Robeson Center Room 233B and on Zoom. Spears talk, “The World’s Population May Peak in Your Lifetime. What…
MPI Issues Latest Estimates of the Size and Origins of the U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) today released its latest estimates of the size of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States, pegging the number at 11.3 million in mid-2022. That figure is up from 11.2 million in 2021 and 11.0 million in 2019. Penn State's Migration…
Thiede named interim director of PRI’s CSA Core
Brian Thiede, associate professor of rural sociology and demography, has been appointed as the interim director of the Computational and Spatial Analysis Core (CSA) of the Population Research Institute (PRI) at Penn State. His appointment begins July 1. Thiede is a demographer and…
Damaske featured on NPR's Marketplace, AP, more
PRI Associate Director Sarah Damaske was featured on NPR's Marketplace on May 15 in the story "A greater percentage of women are working than ever before." In the piece, Damasked notes women’s work patterns have come to look more like men’s in that more women, especially women with college…
Three Penn State faculty members collaborate on immigration initiative
By Rachel Keller, The Daily Collegian At the centennial of the 1924 Johnson-Reed Immigration Act, A K Sandoval-Strausz, Tobias Brinkmann and Jennifer Van Hook, faculty members for Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, shifted their focus to educating the community on the impacts of immigration…
SSRI cofounds participate in Capitol Hill Research and Policy Briefing
On March 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., a Capitol Hill Research and Policy Briefing will take place featuring two SSRI cofounds: Erica Frankenberg and Jennifer Van Hook. The event will be hybrid with the in-person option located in the Russel Senate Office Building, Room 118, 2…
Van Hook named distinguished professor
Jennifer Van Hook, Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography, College of the Liberal Arts, was recently named distinguished professor by Penn State's Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. The distinguished professor or distinguished librarian title recognizes outstanding…
Liberal Arts initiative to explore historical, societal impacts of immigration
Immigration is the focus of the current offering in the College of the Liberal Arts’ “Moments of Change” initiative — an undertaking that brings students, faculty, staff and alumni together to explore what it means to live through historic and contemporary times of change. Through…
PRI / CSA Troubleshooting Sessions
The Population Research Institute (PRI) and the Computational and Spatial Analysis (CSA) Core are launching a Troubleshooting Team to provide consultation to PRI associates to help address their data and/or computational challenges. This service is particularly…
New demographic analysis of school-age population projects increased diversity and lessened social and cultural differences
Demography may not, as the famed French philosopher Auguste Comte once wrote, “be destiny,” but two new analyses, a demographic simulation of the school-age population of the United States and a projection of the racially-identified American Indian and Alaska Native population to 2050, make clear…
Social Science Research Institute launches climate, society, health initiative
A new Penn State initiative will focus on climate change and how extreme weather events impact human health, especially in underserved populations across the globe. The Social Science Research Institute’s (SSRI) Climate, Society and Health Initiative aims to help research move beyond…
Immigrant families focus of recent national symposium
The 31st Annual National Symposium on Family Issues recently was held at Penn State’s University Park campus and focused on how immigration policies impact the rapidly growing migrant family demographic. “Twenty-six percent of all children living in the United States live with an immigrant…
Debunking the myth of steady male employment
Steady employment has long been the assumed standard associated with the American man, especially by the baby boomer generation. New research is pushing back on the archetype and shedding light on the potential consequences of upholding the “breadwinner” ideology in a labor market in which reality…
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New project to focus on health impacts of climate change
The impacts of climate change on human health are likely to be significant and unavoidable, especially in underserved populations across the globe. A $574,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health will help support a new climate change and health research area in Penn State’s Population…
Four Penn State Liberal Arts faculty members receive Fulbright Scholar Awards
Four College of the Liberal Arts faculty members recently received Fulbright Scholar Awards for the 2023-24 academic year: Gary Adler Jr.,associate professor of sociology; Jennifer E. Glick, associate director of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and…
A Turning Point for the Unauthorized Immigrant Population in the United States
By Jennifer Van Hook, Julia Gelatt and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto Approximately 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States in 2021, up from 11.0 million in 2019, according to new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates. This represents larger annual growth in the…