Arland Thornton

Research Professor, Population Studies Center.
Research Professor, Survey Research Center.
Professor, Sociology.

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Michigan

Research Interests:  Arland Thornton is Professor of Sociology, Population Studies, and Survey Research at the University of Michigan, where he is also associated with the Native American Studies Program and the Centers for Chinese Studies, Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, and South Asian Studies. He is a social demographer who has served as president of the Population Association of America and previously held a MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health. He has received four awards for his books as well as distinguished career awards from the American Sociological Association and the Population Association of America. Thornton has focused much of his career on the study of family and demographic issues, with emphasis on marriage, cohabitation, childbearing, gender roles, education, and migration. Thornton has also pioneered the study of developmental idealism, including its conceptualization, measurement, and influence in many places. He has collaborated in the collection and analysis of data from Albania, Argentina, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Malawi, Nepal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Turkey, the U.S., and Vietnam. Thornton is currently conducting research concerning American Indians, with a particular focus on levels and trends in schools, school enrollment, and literacy.

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