Barbara Entwisle is a social demographer fundamentally interested in how individual behaviors are incented and constrained by multiscale environments (social, physical, natural, policy) and how these environments change as a result of decisions made.  She is also very interested in data and research design, including challenges of big data.  Dr. Entwisle is currently Kenan Professor of Sociology, with adjunct and affiliate appointments in Geography; Energy, Ecology, and Environment; and International Studies. For six years (2010-2016), she served as Vice Chancellor for Research at UNC-Chapel Hill, and as a result, has a deep understanding of the university, its prospects, and its challenges.  Before that, she served as Director of the Carolina Population Center (2002-2010) and currently serves as CPC’s Training Director.

Dr. Entwisle earned her A.B. in sociology-anthropology from Swarthmore College, an A.M. and Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University.