Joachim Singelmann named chair of Department of Demography and Organizational Studies

Joachim Singelmann

By Lorna Stafford
Communications Coordinator, Office of University Communications

(May 20, 2011)--Joachim Singelmann, the new chair of the Department of Demography and Organizational Studies in the UTSA College of Public Policy, is bringing a wealth of knowledge and a little Cajun spice to the Alamo City.

Singelmann, who joined the department April 1, comes from Baton Rouge, La., where he served as the David J. Kriskovich Distinguished professor and director of the Louisiana Population Data Center at Louisiana State University. His areas of research include economic sociology and demography with emphasis on inequality between social classes, men and women, race and ethnic groups, and urban vs. rural settings.

"I am happy to be part of the mission to move UTSA to the next level. That was one of the factors that helped guide my decision," said Singelmann. "UTSA is a growing university that is on the cusp of becoming a Tier One research institution. It is always fun to be part of a building process, and I believe I can contribute to these efforts."

Among his many appointments and publications, Singelmann has served as population affairs officer for the Population Division of the United Nations from 1980 to 1986. He was a visiting fellow at Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), a well-known social science research center in Berlin. He also held faculty positions at the Uiversitat Duisburg-Essen in Germany as well as the University of California San Diego, Vanderbilt University, University of Texas at Austin and Louisiana State University.

"The Department of Demography at UTSA is one of the few free-standing demography departments in the country. I would like to grow this opportunity through top-quality research that attracts external funding and produces first-rate output," he said. "I am also interested in collaborating with other departments both in the college and across the university because no single discipline owns the answers to policy issues. One cannot properly plan -- both in the private sectors and in government -- without knowledge of population dynamics."

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Louisiana State University appointments of Joachim Singelmann

• David J. Kriskovich Distinguished Professor of Sociology, 2000-2011
• Director, Louisiana Population Data Center, 2004-2010
• Professor of Rural Sociology, 1987-2011
• Department of Agricultural Economics, professor, 2002-2011
• Departments of Sociology and Rural Sociology, 1991-2011; chair and head, 1991-1998