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Department of Sociology & Crime, Law and Justice
211 Oswald Tower
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802

Phone: 814-865-2527
Fax: 814-863-7216

College of the Liberal Arts

R.S. Oropesa (Sal)
Professor of Sociology & Demography
Undergraduate Program Director

702 Oswald Tower
Department of Sociology     
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802-6207
Office telephone: (814) 865-1577
Fax: (814) 863-8342

oropesa@pop.psu.edu

EDUCATION 

1987    Ph.D.  University of Washington
1980    M.A.     University of Washington
1978    B.A.     Ohio State University

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

My research interests currently focus on the consequences of migration and assimilation (or the lack thereof) for family formation, health, and inequality among Latinos in the United States. I teach several courses: introduction to sociology (honors), advanced general sociology, intermediate social statistics, and immigration and inequality.

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 

Associate Editor, Journal of Family Issues (2001-present) 

Editorial Board, American Sociological Review (1999-2001) 

Runner-up for the 1995 Outstanding Article Award, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action. 

Named to the “List of Excellent Honors Instructors” by the University Scholars Program, The Pennsylvania State University (1993). 

“Puerto Rican Maternal and Infant Health Project,” National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (principal investigator: Nancy Landale; co-investigators: R.S. Oropesa and Ana Luisa Dávila). 1994-1999.  

"The Demography of Local Marriage Markets," National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (co-principal investigator with Daniel Lichter). 1992-1994.

"Contexts, Identities, and Economic Outcomes: A Pilot STudy of Dominicans in Reading, PA." Russell Sage Foundation (Co-Investigator with Leif Jensen; Investigators: G. DeJong, J. Toribio, J. Cohen).  2003-2004.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS 

Oropesa, R.S. and Nancy S. Landale. 2009. "Why do Never-Enrolled Immigrant Youth Matter? An Examination of School Enrollment among
Mexicans and Non-Hispanic Whites." Sociology of Education.

Oropesa, R.S., Nancy S. Landale, and Meredith J. Greif. 2008. "From Puerto Rican to Pan-Ethnic in New York City." Ethnic and Racial Studies 31: 1315 -1339.

Landale, Nancy S. and R.S. Oropesa. 2007. "Hispanic Families: Stability and Change." Annual Review of Sociology 33: 381-405.

Oropesa, R.S. and Nancy S. Landale. 2005. "Equal Access to Income and Union Dissolution among Mainland Puerto Ricans." Journal of Marriage and Family 67: 173 - 190.

Oropesa, R.S. and Nancy S. Landale. 2004. "The Future of Marriage and Hispanics." Journal of Marriage and Family.

Oropesa, R.S., Nancy S. Landale, and Tanya Kenkre. 2003. "Income Allocation in Marital and Cohabiting Unions: The Case of Mainland Puerto
Ricans." Journal of Marriage and Family 65: 910 - 926.

Oropesa, R.S., Nancy S. Landale, and Tanya Kenkre. 2002.  “Structure, Process, and Satisfaction with Obstetricians: An Analysis of Mainland Puerto Ricans.”  Medical Care and Research Review  59: 412-439.

Landale, Nancy S. and R.S. Oropesa. 2002.  “White, Black, or Puerto Rican? Racial Self-Identification among Mainland and Island Puerto Ricans.” Social Forces 81: 231-254.

Oropesa, R.S., Nancy S. Landale, and Ana Luisa Dávila. 2001.  “Poverty, Prenatal Care, and Infant Health Outcomes in Puerto Rico.” Social Biology 48: 44-66. 

Oropesa, R.S. and Nancy S. Landale. 2000.  “From Austerity to Prosperity? Migration and Child Poverty among Mainland and Island Puerto Ricans.” Demography 27: 323-338.

Landale, Nancy S.,  R.S. Oropesa, and Bridget K. Gorman. 2000.  “Migration and Infant Death: Assimilation or Selective Migration among Puerto Ricans?” American Sociological Review 65: 888-905. 

Oropesa, R.S. and Bridget K. Gorman. 2000.  “Ethnicity, Immigration, and Beliefs about Marriage as a ‘Tie that Binds’.” In Linda Waite, Christine Bachrach, Michelle Hindin, Elizabeth Thomson, and Arland Thornton (eds.). Ties that Bind: Perspectives on Marriage and Cohabitation Hawthorne, CA: Aldine de Gruyter.