Linda J. Waite is a sociologist and social demographer. She is the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. In 2018, she was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

Education and career

Waite has a B.A. from Michigan State University (1969), and an M.A. (1970) and a Ph.D. (1976) from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. She was named the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service professor in 2020. At the University of Chicago, Waite has been co-director of the Center on Parents, Children, and Work, an Alfred P. Sloan Working Families Center (1997-2006), and was the founding director of the Center on Aging. Waite is past president of the

Population Association of America The Population Association of America (PAA) is a non-profit scientific professional association dedicated to the study of issues related to population and demography. The PAA was established by Henry Pratt Fairchild and Frederick Osborn, with fu ...

Work

Waite’s work uses empirical data to study the dynamics underlying major social changes that impact the life courses of individuals and families. Waite's research topics have covered women’s entry into the labor market, patterns of marriage and family formation, and, more recently, population aging and health. A central focus of Waite’s research on aging is the examination of marital quality and sexuality as critical components of health and well-being in later life. Waite’s early work on marriage showed it improves health and lengthens life. This early research led to the development of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), which provides data used by Waite to examine public discourse on later life sexuality, and demonstrates that sexuality is not just the province of the young.

Selected publications

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Awards and honors

In 2012, Waite received the Matilda White Riley Award from the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Research. In 2016, she received the Matilda White Riley Award for career achievement from the Section on Aging and the Life Course of the American Sociological Association. She was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waite, Linda Living people Michigan State University alumni University of Michigan alumni University of Chicago faculty American women sociologists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Year of birth missing (living people)