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ABOUT
DR. CELESTE
WATKINS-HAYES
University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Sociology, The University of Michigan
My research interests lie at the intersection of inequality, public policy, and institutions. This intellectual commitment is motivated by my desire to offer analyses and prescriptions, based on empirically- and conceptually-rich research, that address the real-world issues that limit human potential. How do government and non-profit institutions address (or fail to address) the needs of those facing economic hardship? How do women financially and socially cope with living with HIV/AIDS, and how does this affect their abilities to take care of themselves and their families? What will rising income inequality mean for the ability of individuals to move up the economic ladder?
Whether the focus is on how intersections of race, gender, class, and health shape one’s experiences in the labor market, the opportunities and constraints facing bureaucracies that target those on the bottom of the economic ladder, or the dilemmas challenging upward mobility in an age of rising income inequality, I investigate how individuals negotiate key questions of survival and mobility in a context of racial and gender hierarchies and economic constraints. My scholarship therefore speaks directly to current policy debates.
AWARDS
Department of Sociology Graduate Mentoring Award
Northwestern University, 2019
E. LeRoy Hall Award for Excellence in Teaching
Northwestern University
Early CAREER Award
The National Science Foundation
Health Investigator Award
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Alumnae Initiate
The Phi Beta Kappa Society, Spelman College
The Jacquelyne Johnson Jackson Early Career Award
Association of Black Sociologists
Public Voices Thought Leadership Fellowship
The OpEd Project and Northwestern University
Honoree, YWomen Leadership Awards
YWCA Evanston/North Shore
Honoree, Chicago’s Top 40 Game Changers Under 40
Ariel Investments and WVON Urban Business Roundtable
Honoree
New Vision of Hope Foundation Annual HIV/AIDS Benefit Gala
Blue Diamond Woman of Excellence
Spelman College National Alumnae Association, Chicago Chapter
Department of African American Studies Teaching Award
Northwestern University
Department of African American Studies Distinguished Service Award
Northwestern University
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