Kate Cagney

Kathleen A. Cagney, Ph.D., is director of the Institute for Social Research (ISR) and professor of sociology. Her research examines social inequality and its relationship to health with a focus on neighborhood, race, and aging and the life course. Her general aim is to bring insights from urban sociological theory and novel survey and measurement methods to research on health and well-being. As Director of ISR, she has focused on the integration of social science and the arts, the development of research on rural life, and the creation of programmatic efforts to expand access to the academy through a post-baccalaureate program in the social sciences. ISR now collaborates across the university, including new efforts with the College of Engineering and Wallace House.

Cagney received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from Western Michigan University, a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Health Policy and Management from Johns Hopkins University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship focused on sociology and aging at the University of Chicago. Cagney was a faculty member at the University of Chicago from that point until her move to the University of Michigan in 2021.