Our faculty members and affiliates are integral to our mission of studying the causes and consequences of inequality and developing remedies for these disparities and their adverse effects.
Diversity Initiative for Tenure in Economics (DITE)
The Diversity Initiative for Tenure in Economics (DITE) is a dedicated program aiming to enhance diversity within the realm of economics.
Through this initiative, we support and uplift scholars from diverse backgrounds, fostering an inclusive academic community.
Faculty Affiliates
Our faculty affiliates engage in equity-related research initiatives and actively contribute to projects within the Cook Centerâs research themes.
Imari Z. Smith
Imari Z. Smith completed her Ph.D in Public Policy and Sociology at Duke University. Through her work with the Cook Center, Imari continues her work in the intersections of gender, race, class, and health inequities.
Imari holds a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University in womenâs studies with a minor in chemistry, and was the first in the history of the Womenâs Studies department (now Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies) to graduate with Highest Distinction for her honors thesis titled Black Femininity through the White Speculum
Jay A. Pearson
Jay A. Pearsonâs research examines how policy sponsored structural inequality influences social determination of health. He is particularly interested in the health effects of conventional and non-conventional resources associated with racial assignment, ethnic identity, national origin, immigration, and cultural orientations.
Jean Beaman
Jean Beaman is Associate Professor of Sociology, with affiliations with Black Studies, Political Science, Feminist Studies, Global Studies, and the Center for Black Studies Research, at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Previously, she was faculty at Purdue University and held visiting fellowships at Duke University and the European University Institute (Florence, Italy). Her research is ethnographic in nature and focuses on race/ethnicity, racism, international migration, and state violence in both France and the United States. She is author of Citizen Outsider: Children of North African Immigrants in France (University of California Press, 2017), as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Her current book project is on suspect citizenship and belonging, anti-racist mobilization, and activism against state violence in France. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University. She is also an Associate Editor of the journal, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power and a Corresponding Editor for the journal Metropolitics/Metropolitiques. She is the Co-PI for the Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar grant, âRace, Precarity, and Privilege: Migration in a Global Contextâ for 2020-2022 and a visiting fellow at Stanfordâs Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences for 2022-2023.
Jim C. Harper, II
Dr. Jim C. Harper, II, a native of Mount Olive, North Carolina, has dedicated his career to teaching and inspiring others through lessons of history. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in History from North Carolina Central University, and his Ph.D. from Howard University.
As a visionary and forward-thinking executive leader, he has a passion for orchestrating transformational initiatives to create engaging, relevant programs, increasing outreach to the community and campus at large, and fostering a collaborative approach to educating students.
He has been employed at North Carolina Central University for over two decades, serving as department chair for over a decade. Currently, he serves as a professor of history and associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies at NCCU, and he is also a faculty affiliate with the Samuel Dubois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University.
Dr. Harper is the recipient of multiple teaching and service awards, including the University of North Carolina Systemâs Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award, the North Carolina Central University Excellence in Teaching Award and the Colonel Charles Young Trailblazer Award, which recognizes distinguished individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service and commitment to the community, leadership, and youth.
Dr. Harper has published a number of books, chapter, articles, and digital research projects. He recently published a co-authored manuscript With Faith in God and Heart and Mind: A History of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (UNC Press 2024).
Dr. Harperâs research interests include African American and African education. He has published the book Western Educated Elites in Kenya, 1900â1963: The African American Factor. Harper has served as lead editor of Topics in the African Diaspora independence movements in the 20th century. Harper has also published a number of journal articles and book chapters.
In addition to the previously mentioned scholarly work, Dr. Harper is also a dedicated public historian. He has completed several public history research projects, including two documentaries entitled 100 Years of Brotherhood and Service: The Beta Phi Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and The Mighty Sixth District Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.: Shapes History; a Digital Mapping Oral History Project in Durham, NC; Durham Memories in the Finding Freedom through Entrepreneurship: Durhamâs Black Wall Street; the Diversity Workforce Oral History Project with the National Parks Service. He also produced the Grand Reflections Oral History Project of the Grand Basilei of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He is currently working on the Sixth District Oral History Project, where he serves as the director and is collecting video oral interviews of fraternity members with 50 or more years of membership in the fraternity in the chapters in North and South Carolina.
As a scholar, teacher, and public historian, Dr. Harper seeks to expand the use of 21st century technology and historical research methods to engage and inspire students, colleagues, and the public.
JoaquĂn Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba
Faculty Affiliate; Policing Enforcement and Justice
Assistant Professor, UNC Chapel Hill
Participation in DITE: Cohort 11/12 Fellow
As an assistant professor in the Department of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, JoaquĂn Alfredo-Angel Rubalcabaâs research examines the intersection of health, labor, and education economics and contemporary policy issues that generate disparities along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender, immigration status, and class. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of New Mexico as a RWJF doctoral fellow and is affiliated with the Native American Budget and Policy Institute. Dr. Rubalcaba is also a faculty fellow at the Carolina Population Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he explores the effects of public policy on the overall socioeconomic well-being of immigrant communities, including issues like labor dynamics in mixed-status households, local policing practices targeting migrant communities, and health outcomes.
John D. Purakal
Dr. John Purakal is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. His research interests include social drivers of health, racial & ethnic disparities of emergency care, and cardiovascular disease. Through his early career, Dr. Purakal has worked to advance Social Emergency Medicine, both at Duke University and across the country. He believes that the Emergency Department has a unique vantage point to the disproportionate role social determinants of health play in health outcomes in at-risk populations. His work aims to improve how we identify unmet social needs and address them, even when unrelated to their acute medical needs. With a passion for teaching, Dr. Purakal strives to find inventive ways to educate both trainees and his patientsâ communities. He has a track record for developing interdisciplinary public health educational initiatives, geared at reducing gaps in health knowledge in underserved populations in Chicago and Detroit before joining Duke.
Jorge Zumaeta
Dr. Jorge N. Zumaeta is a distinguished researcher with a primary focus on socioeconomic development, applied econometrics, equitable growth, social equity, economic policy, and policy assessment. With an impressive 20-year career as a research economist, he has demonstrated remarkable success by publishing 51 significant research studies and co-authoring an additional 62 project evaluations and analyses. Dr. Zumaetaâs expertise extends beyond academia, as he has provided invaluable consulting services in the development of state and local guidelines and performance measures for workforce development programs.
Before assuming his current role as the Senior Director at Florida International University â Academic Planning and Accountability, Dr. Zumaeta held the position of Regional Economist at the Florida Department of Labor, where he made notable contributions to economic analysis and policy evaluation. His exceptional academic achievements have been recognized through his appointment as a Fulbright Research Scholar in Economics. Dr. Zumaeta holds a BA and MS in Economics from Florida Atlantic University, and he further advanced his education by earning a Ph.D. from Tilburg University.
Kisha N. Daniels
Kisha N. Daniels has worked extensively in the areas of teaching and learning with children, public school teachers, administrators, and university students for over 25 years. She holds a BA in elementary education, masterâs degrees in school counseling and administration, a specialist certification in curriculum and instruction, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a teacher and administrator in large, urban school districts, she has devoted her work to utilizing and researching engaging curriculum that supports diverse learning styles. During her academic tenure, she was Associate Professor of Education Leadership and has held joint appointments as Director for the Office of Community Service Learning and the Office of Faculty Professional Development and was the Principal Investigator (Education Core) of a National Institute of Health P20 grant which focused on increasing underrepresented populations to pursue cardio-metabolic research careers.
