25
July
2022
|
16:30 PM
America/New_York

Ohio State appoints new Kirwan Institute executive director

Ange-Marie Hancock will oversee research aimed at creating just, inclusive society

The Ohio State University has selected Ange-Marie Hancock as executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, effective Jan. 1, 2023.

Ange-Marie HancockEstablished in 2003, the Kirwan Institute is an interdisciplinary research institute named for former Ohio State President William E. “Brit” Kirwan in recognition of his efforts to champion diversity at Ohio State. The Kirwan Institute researchers, affiliated faculty, collaborators and community partners conduct research to inform policies and practices that help create a just and inclusive society where all people and communities have an opportunity to succeed.

“We are looking forward to Ange-Marie’s leadership,” said Ohio State Executive Vice President and Provost Melissa L. Gilliam. “An internationally recognized scholar, Dr. Hancock joins us from the University of Southern California, where she is a Dean’s Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations and the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies.”

Hancock, a Columbus native and Thomas Worthington High School alumna, has a family connection to Ohio State. Her father, Charles Hancock, graduated from Ohio State in 1970 in what is now the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE). Charles Hancock taught in EHE for 26 years and directed the Young Scholars Program, which provides support and financial assistance to academically talented high school students who are the first in their families to receive bachelor’s degrees.

Ange-Marie Hancock has served as USC’s department chair of political science and international relations since 2020, and she also directs the USC Institute for Intersectionality and Social Transformation and the university’s Center for Leadership by Women of Color.

“Among her many accomplishments, Ange-Marie conducted the original survey research and designed the business model for what would become the Women’s National Basketball Association,” said Wendy G. Smooth, incoming senior vice provost for inclusive excellence. “She has written numerous articles and books, which explore how the intersection of race, gender, class, sexuality, citizenship and other categories of difference have an impact on policy.”

Her books include The Politics of Disgust and the Public Identity of the “Welfare Queen,” Solidarity Politics for Millennials: A Guide to Ending the Oppression Olympics, and Intersectionality: An Intellectual History.

In addition to directing the Kirwan Institute, Hancock will join the faculty of the Department of Political Science and hold an ENGIE-Axium Endowed Professorship.

Until Hancock’s arrival, Jason Reece, associate professor of city and regional planning, has agreed to provide interim leadership to the Kirwan Institute. Reece is a long-term faculty affiliate and a former staff member of the institute, and is currently involved in several ongoing institute research projects. He follows Beverly Vandiver, professor in the Department of Human Sciences and director of the Quantitative Methodology Center, who has served as interim executive director since autumn 2020.

“Under Beverly’s leadership, Kirwan has developed several new research areas, attracted national foundation funding and recruited postdoctoral scholars to the university,” Gilliam said. “Please join us in thanking Beverly, Jason and all Kirwan Institute staff and affiliates for providing continuity during the leadership transition.”

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