Visiting Scholars Program

The Russell Sage Foundation has established a center where Visiting Scholars can pursue their writing and research. Each year, the Russell Sage Foundation invites a number of scholars to its New York headquarters to investigate topics in social and behavioral sciences. The Foundation particularly welcomes groups of scholars who wish to collaborate on a specific project during their residence at Russell Sage. While Visiting Scholars typically work on projects related to the Foundation's current programs, a number of scholars whose research falls outside the Foundation's active programs also participate.

RSF Visiting Scholars 2011-2012

The Russell Sage Foundation announces the appointment of nineteen leading social scientists as Visiting Scholars for the 2011-2012 academic year. During their time in residence, these scholars will pursue research and writing projects that reflect the Foundation’s commitment to strengthening the social sciences and applying research more effectively to important social problems.

Two Visiting Scholars will contribute to the Foundation’s long-standing program of research on Immigration, which focuses on how immigrants and their children are adapting socially, politically, and economically to life in the United States. Jennifer Lee will compare how various immigrant groups define success and the paths they have taken toward upward mobility. S. Karthick Ramakrishnan will examine the role of racial prejudice, political partisanship, and economic concerns in Americans’ attitudes about immigrants and immigration policy.

The Foundation will host seven Visiting Scholars under the auspices of its Social Inequality program, which supports research on the social consequences of rising economic inequality in the United States. Delia Baldassarri will write a book on the ways political interests influence political representation among individuals and groups. David Johnson will examine how accurately national income and consumption measures represent U.S. economic well-being. Rucker Johnson will trace the effects of poverty policies on school quality and the adult educational attainment of poor and minority children. Maria Murillo will explore how income inequality affects the ways political parties respond to their constituents. Wendy Rahn will write a book exploring the relation between rising economic inequality and politically influential citizen investors. Ricardo Reis will research whether social transfer programs such as Medicaid and disability insurance bolster or hinder economic recovery during a recession. Natalia Sarkisian will write a book on the impact of social class and race on kin support and how economic disadvantage influences family relations, financial support, and economic mobility.

Two Visiting Scholars will work on projects related to the Foundation’s Cultural Contact program, which focuses on understanding and improving relations between racial and ethnic groups as America becomes increasingly diverse. Elizabeth Levy Paluck will analyze how high school students transmit social norms and which students are the most effective at spreading tolerant behaviors among their peers. Jessica Vasquez will write a book examining Latino intermarriage with non-Hispanic whites, other minorities and Latino co-ethnics in order to explore how such unions impact integration into mainstream American culture.

The Foundation will support two Visiting Scholars to pursue a project under the aegis of its Future of Work program, which supports research examining the causes and consequences of changes in the quality of low-wage jobs in the United States and other advanced economies. Annette Bernhardt will write several articles analyzing the prevalence of workplace violations in overlooked areas of the low-wage labor market, including informal and unregulated jobs. The working group of Dan Clawson and Naomi Gerstel will write a book analyzing the regulation of workplace time, how workers navigate or struggle with such regulations, and how outside forces such as family influence workplace time.

The remaining five Visiting Scholars for 2011-2012 will work on independent projects. Robert Aronowitz will write a social history examining the effectiveness of medical decision-making, including interventions such as drugs or surgery. Alan Blinder will write a historical analysis of the origin and fallout from the financial crisis and the Great Recession and assess the economic legacy of these crises. Paul DiMaggio will focus on the ways decisions made by individuals in a social network influence the decisions of other members and whether such network effects sustain or diminish inequality. Eric Hilt will write several papers on the role of financial institutions in the U.S. economy during the first quarter of the 20th century. Daniel Nagin will co-write a book of criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing incarceration and crime rates.

To learn more about each visiting scholar's research project, follow the links below.

If you are interested in applying to be a Russell Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar, please visit the How to Apply part of our site.