Robert A Hummer

Howard W. Odum Distinguished Professor of Sociology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

rhummer@email.unc.edu

Field of Study: Demography, Sociology
 
Specialization: Ageing, Mortality, Health, and Longevity, Social Demography
 
Regional focus: United States and Canada
 
Education: Doctorate (Ph.D, or MD), Florida State University, Sociology, 1993
 
Working languages: English (United States)
 
Other association membership in population or related fields: European Association for Population Studies (EAPS), Population Association of America (PAA)
Curriculum Vitae:
 
Professional Summary:

Robert A. Hummer is the Howard W. Odum Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Fellow of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). He served as the 2021 President of the Population Association of America and was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2023. His research focuses on the accurate documentation and more complete understanding of health and mortality disparities in the United States. He is currently Director and Principal Investigator of the long-running National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Now in its sixth wave, Add Health is one of the most innovative and well-utilized nationally representative cohort studies of Americans ever undertaken and provides data for thousands of researchers to more fully understand the multi-level (biological, survey, contextual) life course factors that contribute to health and health disparities in US adolescents and adults.

 

Publications:

Hummer, R.A. 2023. Race and Ethnicity, Racism, and Population Health in the United States: The Straightforward, The Complex, Innovations, and the Future. Demography 60(3): 633-657.

Gutin, I., and R.A. Hummer. 2021. Social Inequality and the Future of US Life Expectancy. Annual Review of Sociology. 47:501-520.

Hummer, R.A., and E.R. Hamilton. 2019. Population Health in America. Oakland, Calif.: University of California Press. 

Hummer, R.A., and M.D. Hayward. 2015. Hispanic Older Adult Health & Longevity in the United States: Current Patterns & Concerns for the Future. Daedalus: Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 144 (2):20-30. 

Hummer, R.A., D.A. Powers, S.G. Pullum, G.L. Gossman, and W.P. Frisbie. 2007. Paradox Found (Again): Infant Mortality among the Mexican-Origin Population in the United States. Demography. 44 (3):441-57. 

 
Honorary or professional positions and awards:
 
2023 Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences

2021 President, Population Association of America

2020 Distinguished Alumnus Award, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Florida State University

2020 Mentoring Award, Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science

2010 Clifford C. Clogg Award for Early Career Achievement, Population Association of America

Research grants:
To date, principal investigator of over $60,000,000 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health