Marta Tienda’s work on the Hispanic population of the United States is extensive, and she has also made numerous contributions to our understanding of equity and access to higher education and of the consequences of underinvestment in public education. Her research looks into how ascribed attitudes acquire social and economic significance, generally by investigating racial, ethnic, and gender variations in social inequality. Tienda has studied immigration, population diversification, and concentrated poverty, documenting how social arrangements and life course trajectories both perpetuate and reshape socioeconomic inequality.
Tienda is the thirteenth president of the American Academy of Political and Social Science and has held this position since 2021.
Professional positions
- 1997–present: Professor (1997–1999) and Maurice P. During ’22 Professor (now emerita) in Demographic Studies (1999–present), Princeton University
- 1987–1997: Professor (1987–1994) and Ralph Lewis Professor (1994–1997) of sociology, University of Chicago
- 1976–1989: Assistant (1976–1980), associate (1980–1983), and full (1983–1989) professor of rural sociology, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Notable publications
- Adserà, Alícia, and Marta Tienda, eds. 2012. Migrant Youths and Children of Migrants in a Globalized World. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 643.
- Tienda, Marta, and Faith Mitchell, eds. 2006. Multiple Origins, Uncertain Destinies: Hispanics and the American Future. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
- Stier, Haya, and Marta Tienda. 2000. The Color of Opportunity: Pathways to Family, Welfare, and Work. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Bean, Frank D., and Marta Tienda. 1987. The Hispanic Population of the United States. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Degrees
- PhD, sociology, University of Texas at Austin
- MA, sociology, University of Texas at Austin
- BA, Spanish literature, Michigan State University
