__NOTOC__
Dowell Myers is a professor of urban planning and demography in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development, at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
(USC). He directs the school's Population Dynamics Research Group, whose recent projects have been funded by the
National Institute of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
, the Haynes Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, and the
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
.
He leads the ongoing California Demographic Futures research project at USC. Recent applications have focused on the upward mobility of immigrants to the US and
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
, trajectories into
homeownership in the United States
The home-ownership rate in the United States is the percentage of homes that are owned by their occupants. In 2009, it remained similar to that in some other post-industrial nations with 67.4% of all occupied housing units being occupied b ...
, changing transportation behavior, education and labor force trends, and projections for the future of the California population.
In 2000 he was a member of the Census Advisory Committee of Professional Associations (Population Association of America) for the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
and is the author of ''Analysis with Local Census Data: Portraits of Change'' (Academic Press, 1992).
In March 2007, the
Russell Sage Foundation published his newest book, ''Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America''. In that book Myers calls for a new
social contract between the older and younger generations, based on their mutual interests and the moral responsibility of each generation to provide for children and the elderly. ''Immigrants and Boomers'' attempts to create a new framework for understanding the demographic challenges facing America and forging a national consensus to address them. Many Americans regard the massive influx of
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
over the past 30 years with great anxiety, fearing new burdens and unwanted changes to the nation's ethnic, social, and economic identity. Virtually unnoticed in the contentious national debate over immigration is the even more significant demographic change about to occur as the first wave of the
Baby Boom generation retires, slowly draining the workforce and straining the federal budget to the breaking point. Myers in this book argues that each of these two powerful demographic shifts may hold the keys to resolving the problems presented by the other.
In fall 2006, Dowell Myers was recipient of the Haynes Award for Research Impact that was issued on the occasion of the Haynes Foundation's 80th anniversary.
Myers graduated from
Phillips Exeter Academy in 1968. His undergraduate degree in
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
was followed by a
Master of Planning
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
degree from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. His
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
is in
urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
from
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
and he also studied
demography
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
and
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
.
Dowell Myers has recently testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary about the reform of U.S. immigration policy.
Written testimony of Dowell Meyers to the House Committee on the Judiciary
/ref>
Published works
*''Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America,'' New York: Russell Sage Foundation. February 2007.
*''Analysis with Local Census Data: Portraits of Change,'' New York: Academic Press, 1992; 15 chapters and 3 appendices.
*(editor), ''Housing Demography: Linking Demographic Structure and Housing Markets,'' Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990.
References
External links
Dowell Myers's
at the University of Southern California]
The School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California
Population Dynamics Research Group of the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California
Where Millions Entered U.S., a Debate on Letting in More, March 31, 2007 ''New York Times''
;Reviews and news media coverage
Miriam Jordan, “Boomers’ Good Life Tied to Better Life for Immigrants,” Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2007
Jeffrey Rabin, A Q&A column with Dowell Myers, Los Angeles Times, February 27, 2007
D’Vera Cohn, “The Divergent Paths of Baby Boomers and Immigrants,” Population Reference Bureau, March 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Dowell
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
University of Southern California faculty
Columbia University alumni
Harvard University alumni
MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni
University of California, Berkeley alumni