Our community celebrated Katherine Curtis, Buttel-Sewell Professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and CDE Director, during the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences 2025 Investiture Ceremony this spring. The ceremony formally recognized faculty members who have been appointed to named professorships in honor of their exceptional research contributions and scholarly distinction. These esteemed appointments represent the highest academic accolades conferred by the college and are made possible through the generous philanthropy of donors.
Curtis’ work is centered in demography and extends to spatial, environmental, rural, and applied demography. She focuses on two central themes: population-environment interactions, most centrally the relationship between demographic, economic, and environmental forces; and spatial and temporal dimensions of social and economic inequality, most centrally historical and local forces perpetuating racial disparities.