Meet Dr. Tanya Rouleau Whitworth, CISS Post-Doctoral Scholar
Dr. Tanya Rouleau Whitworth is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS), working with professor of sociology and CISS Director Dr. Deborah Carr. She studies health, education, sexuality, and family relationships across the life course. She uses a diversity of statistical methods in her research and also enjoys collaborating on mixed methods and interdisciplinary projects. Her work has been published in Journal of Marriage and Family, Gender & Society, and Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Her dissertation (2022) examined race, class, and gender differences in college students’ receipt of support from their parents and the implications of that support for degree completion. Learn more about Dr. Rouleau Whitworth’s research and publications at her website and in a brief interview with CISS communications intern Lily Belisle below!
What made you decide to be a social scientist/ why does social science matter to you?
When I initially began my undergraduate career at the University of New Hampshire, I thought I wanted to attend medical school and become a physician. However, as I took a number of social science classes to fulfill my general requirements, I became captivated by the way social science steps outside an individual framing to examine how we’re all connected, and how our social circumstances shape our life chances. From this point on, the more classes I took, the clearer it became that I wanted to pursue a career where I could understand these distinctly social processes.
Can you tell us about a current research project that you’re excited about?
At the moment, I’m working on multiple projects that investigate education, health, and family relationships. One of these is based on my dissertation, titled “Parents as School Supplies: How Support from Mothers and Fathers Contributes to Inequality in College.” In this project, I examine the different types of support parents offer to their children attending college. Specifically, I focus on differences in parental support across race/ethnicity, social class and gender. So far, I have found significant variation. What this means is that popular ideas of a “typical college student” or “typical college experience” are really misleading. College experiences cannot be narrowed to a single definition—the experience of two students at the same institution can even be incredibly different, based on the support they receive from family and a variety of other factors. For example, students from affluent families are more likely to move away from home and receive financial assistance from their parents, and this increases their chance of graduating.
What has led you to the intersection of disciplines within which your expertise lies?
While I didn’t end up pursuing medicine or medical school, I have preserved my interests in health and psychology through my transition to sociology. I find interdisciplinary projects to be especially exciting because they bring together ideas from different disciplines in innovative ways. Working with colleagues in different fields, I have been exposed to insights I may have never encountered with an exclusively sociological lens.
How does your research benefit from an interdisciplinary approach?
An interdisciplinary approach strengthens research both in terms of the questions asked and the methods used. For example, collaborating with colleagues who have a background in statistics or computer science has helped me to navigate the use of computational methodologies in some of my sociological research. In addition, working with collaborators across disciplines–including, in my case, law and public health–provides practice in communicating with a diverse range of audiences, which is a valuable skill to have in order to disseminate research findings.
What do you hope to accomplish during your time at BU?
I have only been at BU for a month thus far, but one of the aspects I am most excited about is being a part of CISS. I feel very fortunate to be a postdoctoral fellow at the Center and have the opportunity to pursue my own research for a number of years. During my time at BU, I hope to push forward my research agenda by attending conferences and publishing my work in academic journals. I am also in the process of developing a collaborative relationship with Dr. Carr, and we have a couple of planned projects that I’m looking forward to. Finally, on a personal note, I am quite excited to explore the city of Boston and all of the beautiful spaces it has to offer.