Barbara Entwisle has been named incoming Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC) for the US Census Bureau
Barbara Entwisle, the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology and a Fellow of the Carolina Population Center (CPC), has been named the incoming Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC) for the US Census Bureau.
Dr. Entwisle was originally appointed to the CSAC in 2021. The committee provides advice on the design, operation and implementation of Census Bureau programs. Members advise the Census Bureau director on the uses of scientific developments in statistical data collection, survey methodology, geospatial and statistical analysis, econometrics, cognitive psychology, business operations and computer science as they pertain to the full range of Census Bureau programs and activities, including census tests, policies and operations.
Her research contributions have been recognized by her election as President of the Population Association of America, President of the Sociological Research Association, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Between August 2010 and June 2016, she served as Vice Chancellor for Research at UNC-Chapel Hill, leading a campus-wide research program with nearly $1billion in annual research expenditures; overseeing 10 research development, support, and compliance offices, and responsible for 15 pan-university research centers and institutes, including the CPC. Prior to her service as Vice Chancellor, from 2002 to 2010, Dr. Entwisle was CPC’s Director and Training Director.
Since returning to the full-time faculty in 2016, Dr. Entwisle renewed her interests in population-environment interactions, leveraging data and tools assembled as part of the Nang Rong (Thailand) project to carry out innovative research on climate change and migration. In addition, in collaboration with colleagues at the U.S. Census Bureau, Dr. Entwisle is engaged in methodological studies of linkages between electronic health records and microcensus data. A paper describing initial work was published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Over her career, Dr. Entwisle has led the development of and early application of new methodological tools, including statistical methods for estimating multilevel models, the integration of social and spatial data, and the development of spatially explicit agent-based modeling approaches. She has contributed to the design of innovative surveys around the world, including the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the China Health and Nutrition Survey, the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, and the Nang Rong (Thailand) Surveys of Social and Demographic Change. Between 2005 and 2013, she was PI for the North Carolina components of the National Children’s Study (NCS).
Dr. Entwisle has received an NIH MENTOR award, a UNC Outstanding Postdoc Mentor Award, a UNC Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction, and six awards for teaching and mentoring from the graduate students in her home department of sociology.
In addition to her research, teaching, and mentoring activities, Dr. Entwisle has led advisory and review panels for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), NSF, and NIH and engaged in policy discussions of the future of social and behavioral research in those venues. She serves as Series Editor for Sage’s Quantitative Applications in Social Science.