John Robert Warren elected to the National Academy of Education

John Robert “Rob” Warren, Director of the Minnesota Population Center and Professor in the Department of Sociology, has been elected to the National Academy of Education (NAEd).  The NAEd's mission is to advance "high-quality research to improve education policy and practice;" it undertakes research studies to address pressing educational issues and administers professional development  fellowship programs to enhance the preparation of the next generation of education scholars.

Professor Warren is a sociologist, demographer, population health scholar, and education policy researcher. His recent research focuses on the ways in which childhood (dis)advantages, racism, education, and work interact across the life course to shape older people’s health and cognition. With $28 million in support from the National Institutes of Health, he is currently co-directing the  High School and Beyond (HS&B) cohort study. HS&B began as a foundational education study in the late 1970s and is now an important data resource for understanding how early life conditions and education intersect with biological factors to impact cognitive and health outcomes in later life.

"I am honored to be elected, but I am even more excited to join the National Academy of Education’s efforts to improve educational practices and policies and to train the next generation of education researchers.," says Warren.

This year, 22 scholars were elected to membership in the Academy from across the United States.

"Professor Warren has long been a leader--in our department, at the University of Minnesota, and in the discipline of sociology writ large--in research and thought on education, stratification, and human health and well-being across the life-course,” says Sociology Chair Douglas Hartmann. “It is gratifying to see his multifaceted contributions be recognized, and exciting to anticipate how his expertise will now enrich the Academy and national education community as well."