News

CPC Fellow Ken Bollen Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Ken Bollen, Carolina Population Center Fellow and Henry Rudolph Immerwahr Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and Department of Sociology at UNC-Chapel Hill, for his recent election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). His research focuses … Read more

What’s Behind the ‘Pronatalist’ Movement to Boost the Birth Rate? An Interview with CPC Director Karen Guzzo

This article originally appeared on North Carolina Public Radio on April 30, 2025 By Tonya Mosley TONYA MOSLEY, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I’m Tonya Mosley. Have more babies, or civilization dies. That’s the rallying cry behind a once fringe … Read more

CPC Director Karen Benjamin Guzzo says most people in the U.S. want kids but lack societal support to meet their ideal parenting vision

The following episode of Consider This from National Public Radio originally aired on April 7, 2025. You can hear the original recording at npr.org. The transcript of the episode is below. —— ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Elon Musk is not shy about … Read more

Carolina Population Center at the Population Association of America 2025 Annual Meeting

Study Reveals Persistent Mental Health Struggles Among College Freshmen During COVID-19 Pandemic

By Grayson Mendenhall Communication Specialist  As the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020-2023 becomes a distant memory, its enduring impact on the mental health of university students remains a significant concern.  A recent study of first-year college students at UNC sheds new … Read more

CPC Fellow Amanda Thompson named director of the UNC Center for Galapagos Studies

Carolina Population Center Fellow Amanda Thompson has been named director of the Center for Galapagos Studies (CGS). With over a decade of experience working in the Galápagos Islands, she has served as interim director of the center since 2023. She … Read more

CPC Fellow Peter Coclanis: Canada and Greenland aren’t likely to join the US anytime soon – but ‘GrAmeriCa’ is a revealing thought experiment

This article originally appeared in The Conversation on Jan. 28, 2025 By Peter Coclanis For some time now, pundits have been debating whether to take Donald Trump “seriously” or “literally,” as the clever binary coined by journalist Salena Zito in … Read more

CPC Fellow Regina Baker and her co-authors dispel myths about causes of child poverty in recent demography analysis

This article originally appeared in The Washington Post on Jan. 24, 2025 Column by Andrew Van Dam Here at the Department, we just can’t turn off the overactive swath of gray matter that sees data stories everywhere. Even in situations where … Read more

CPC Fellow Sean Sylvia Receives Research Excellence Award from Gillings School of Global Public Health

Carolina Population Center Fellow Dr. Sean Sylvia recently received a Gillings Research Excellence Award from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Sylvia, an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, was one of seven faculty … Read more

CPC Fellow Marissa Hall says ‘Dry January’ is more than just a resolution: It’s a tool to fight cancer

An estimated one in five adults of drinking age in the U.S. have been abstaining from alcohol for “Dry January.” By drinking less alcohol, they are also reducing their risk of developing cancer.