Shelley Clark

Professor
McGill University

shelley.clark@mcgill.ca

Field of Study: Demography, Population and Development, Public Health/ Epidemiology
 
Specialization: Children and Youth, Families and Households, Gender Roles-Differentials, HIV/AIDS and STI's, Marriage, Divorce and Consensual Unions, Population and Development, Reproductive Health (Family Planning), Urbanization
 
Regional focus: United States and Canada, Sub-Saharan Africa
 
Education: Doctorate (Ph.D, or MD), Princeton University, Public Administration/Government, 1999
 
Population Association of America; Rural Sociological Society
Working languages: English
 
Curriculum Vitae:
 
Professional Summary:

Professor Shelley Clark is a demographer whose research focuses on gender, health, family dynamics, and life course transitions. After receiving her Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1999, Dr. Clark served as program associate at the Population Council in New York (1999 to 2002) and as an Assistant Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago (2002 to 2006). In the summer of 2006, she joined the Department of Sociology at McGill, where in 2012 she became the founding Director of the Centre on Population Dynamics. Her research over the last two decades has examined adolescent transitions, HIV/AIDS, and single motherhood in sub-Saharan Africa. A new research agenda assesses rural and urban inequalities in North America. Her findings have been published in leading journals, such as Demography and Population and Development Review, and presented atl international organizations, including the World Bank, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), WHO, UNFPA/UNICEF, and the Population Council.

 

Publications:

Clark, Shelley, Caroline W Kabiru, Sonia Laszlo, and Stella Muthuri. 2019. “The Impact of Childcare on Poor Urban Women’s Economic Empowerment in Africa.” Demography, 56:1247–1272 (DOI: 10.1007/s13524-019-00793-3)


Clark, Shelley and Sarah Brauner-Otto. 2015. “Divorce in Sub-Saharan Africa: Are Unions Becoming Less Stable?” Population and Development Review, 41(4): 583-605. (DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2015.00086.x)


Clark, Shelley and Dana Hamplovà. 2013. “Single Motherhood and Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa:  A Life Course Perspective.” Demography, 50(5):1521-1549.  (DOI 10.1007/s13524-013-0220-6)


Clark, Shelley. 2004. “Early Marriage and HIV Risks in Sub-Saharan Africa.”  Studies in Family Planning, 35(3): 149-160.


Clark, Shelley. 2000. “Son Preference and the Sex Composition of Children: Evidence from India.”  Demography, 37(1): 95-108.

 

 
Honorary or professional positions and awards:
 
Board of Directors, Population Association of America (January 2014-December 2016)

Council Member, Canadian Population Society (May 2013-April 2015)

Canada Research Chair in Gender, Youth and Global Health (April 2007-March 2017)

James McGill Professor of Sociology (May 2017-present)

Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), Stanford University (September 2017-June 2018)

Deputy Editor, Demography (March 2020-present)

Editorial Board for Journal of Marriage and Family (September 2013-December 2018)

Editorial Committee for Studies in Family Planning (February 2012-May 2017)

Theme Convener on Marriage and Union Formation, Families and Households for IUSSP 2013 International Population Conference (April 2012-August 2013)
Research grants:
Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grant (2019-2023): $175,024 CAD

Are Rural Americans Disadvantaged? Inequalities in Life Course Trajectories across the Rural-Urban Divide

PI: Shelley Clark, McGill University



International Development Research Centre (IDRC), GrOW (2014-2017): $948,000 CAD

Creating Better Economic Opportunities for Women in Nairobi Slums Through Improved Childcare Options

PI: Shelley Clark, McGill University

Co-Applicant: Caroline Kabiru, African Population and Health Research Centre



National Institutes of Health, NICHD, R21 (2014-2017): $358,278 USD

Measuring Kinship Support for Children of Single Mothers in Nairobi, Kenya

PI: Sangeetha Mahavan, University of Maryland

Co-PI: Shelley Clark, McGill University



Population Council, RISING (2014-2016): $85,675 USD

Financial Literacy and Educational Incentive Program for Adolescent Girls in Ghana

PI: Shelley Clark, McGill University



NIH NICHD R21 (2006-2009): $274,693 USD

Using Relationship Histories to Improve Sexual Behavior Data Among Kenyan Couples

PI: Nancy Luke, Brown University

Co-Is: Shelley Clark, McGill University and Eliya Zulu, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)