IPR's 40th Anniversary Conference
Dynamics of Inequality in America from 1968 to Today
April 16-17, 2009
Inequality has been a major theme of interdisciplinary faculty research at the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) since it was founded in 1968–69. IPR’s 40th anniversary offers a unique moment to take stock of what we know about inequality, to look at how IPR research has contributed to that knowledge base, and to chart a course for where we need to go next in terms of research and policy.
The sessions will expand on five major IPR research themes: race and inequality; the city and inequality; health and social inequalities; politics, public opinion, and inequality; and gender and inequality.
The conference features some of the nation’s leading scholars in their respective fields, including keynote speakers Harvard sociologist Christopher Jencks, Brookings economist Rebecca Blank, Princeton political scientist Larry Bartels, and several IPR faculty members.
This national conference is open to the public and free of charge.
Agenda
Thursday, April 16
McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive
1:00 - 2:15 p.m.
Welcome: Fay Lomax Cook, Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, Northwestern University
Introduction: Dan A. Lewis, Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, and IPR Faculty Fellow, Northwestern University
Keynote Address: “Economic Inequality: How Much Is Too Much?”
Christopher “Sandy” Jencks, Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy,
Harvard University
Keynote presentation 
(pdf)
2:15 - 3:45 p.m.
Race and the Dynamics of Inequality
IPR Panel Organizers: Dorothy Roberts and Mary Pattillo
Speakers:
Mary Pattillo, Professor of Sociology and African American Studies and IPR Faculty Associate, Northwestern University.
"Introduction of the Panel and Comments on Research on Race and the Dynamics of Inequality at IPR"
Lawrence Bobo, W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University
"Assessing the Racial Divide: Inequalities, Identities, and Attitudes Reconfigured"
Presentation (pdf)
Ronald Angel, Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
"Segmented Labor Markets, Segmented Lives: Late-Life Consequences of Lifelong Marginality for the Mexican-Origin Population"
Presentation (pdf)
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
The City and the Dynamics of Inequality
IPR Panel Organizers: Wesley G. Skogan and Lincoln Quillian
Speakers:
Wesley G. Skogan, Professor of Political Science and IPR Associate Director, Northwestern University
"The Dynamics of Inequality and the City: Forty Years of Research on Crime, Policing, and Communities at IPR"
Presentation (pdf)
Robert Sampson, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University
"Stability and Change in Neighborhood Inequality"
John Mollenkopf, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology and Director, Center for Urban Research, City University of New York (CUNY)
"Urban Inequality from the War on Poverty to Change We Can Believe In"
Presentation (pdf)
Friday, April 17
McCormick Auditorium, Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Education and the Dynamics of Inequality
IPR Panel Organizers: James Rosenbaum and David Figlio
Speakers:
James Rosenbaum, Professor of Education and Social Policy and IPR Faculty Fellow, Northwestern University
"Four Decades of Research on the Dynamics of Educational Inequality at IPR"
Charles Payne, Frank P. Hixon Professor in the School of Social Service Administration; and Faculty Affiliate Center for Urban Education Research, University of Chicago
"Forty Years to Get Here: Changing Discourse on Urban Schools, 1968-2009"
Presentation (pdf)
Joseph Altonji, Thomas DeWitt Cuyler Professor of Economics, Yale University
"Changes in Inequality in Education and Human Capital"
Presentation (pdf)
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Health and the Dynamics of Inequality
IPR Panel Organizers: P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Thomas McDade, and Jennifer Richeson
Speakers:
P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Professor of Developmental Psychology; Director, IPR's Cells to Society; and IPR Faculty Fellow, Northwestern University
"The Dynamics of Social Disparities and Health: Why IPR Has Begun a New Research Program."
Presentation (pdf)
Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, Associate Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health, School of Public Health, Harvard University
"Racial/Ethnic Inequality Among Children: Implications for Health Disparities Across The Lifecourse."
Presentation (pdf)
Christopher Kuzawa, Associate Professor of Anthropology and IPR Faculty Fellow, Northwestern University
"Developmental Origins of U.S. Race-Based Disparities in Cardiovascular Health"
Presentation (pdf)
12:45 - 2:00 p.m.
Politics, Public Opinion, and Inequality Lecture
Larry Bartels, Donald Stokes Professor of Public and International Affairs and Director, Center for the Study of Democratic Politics, Princeton University
"Economic Inequality and American Democracy"
Presentation (pdf)
Benjamin Page (Discussant), Gordon S. Fulcher Professor of Decision Making and Political Science and IPR Faculty Associate, Northwestern University
IPR Panel Organizers: Benjamin Page and James Druckman
2:15 - 3:45 p.m.
Gender and the Dynamics of Inequality
IPR Panel Organizers: Alice Eagly and Leslie McCall
Speakers:
Alice Eagly, James Padilla Chair of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Psychology,
and IPR Faculty Fellow, Northwestern University
"IPR Research on the Dynamics of Inequality and Gender"
Jane Mansbridge, Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values, Kennedy School, Harvard University
"Getting to Political Equality: Have Women Made It Yet?"
Presentation (pdf)
Paula England, Professor of Sociology, Stanford University
"Gender Inequality: What's Changing? What's Not?"
Presentation (pdf)
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
2009 Distinguished Public Policy Lecture: “Why Does Inequality Matter, and What Should We Do About It?"
Rebecca Blank, Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; former Dean, Ford School of Public Policy, and former Co-Director, National Poverty Center, University of Michigan
Introduction: Burton Weisbrod, John Evans Professor Economics and IPR Faculty Fellow
Presentation (pdf)
