During my graduate studies, I learned from faculty and students from different disciplinary backgrounds. As an NIH-funded trainee at University of Pennsylvania’s Population Studies Center, I attended weekly seminars where the broad range of speakers — and the lively discussions afterwards — exposed me to new topics, methods, and ways of thinking. I saw that people with different theoretical backgrounds and disciplinary cultures could interact productively, retaining their distinct perspectives while expanding their scholarly toolkits.
When I finished my degree and moved on to other institutions, I began to realize that the population research community was unusual within academia in its breadth and openness. This unique intellectual community is one reason I was so glad to join the Institute for Population Research (IPR) when I came to Ohio State, and building and sustaining this community is my highest priority as IPR director.
As a university center, IPR offers both material resources and less tangible sources of support, inspiration, and energy. Whether you want to stop by for an occasional seminar or become a regular attendee, get a quick piece of grant-writing advice or help lead a new working group, explore your first PAA meeting or become a card-carrying demographer, I hope that IPR can be part of your intellectual home at Ohio State.
Sarah Hayford
Director, Institute for Population Research
Professor, Sociology