Research

Displays celebrating Durham African American History

Advancing Social Equity Research

Within the Center’s rich interdisciplinary community, our research scholars pursue projects across various fields of inquiry as well as with researchers at Duke and scholars throughout the world.

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Research Themes

The Cook Center organizes its research, programmatic, and scholarship activities into the following domains:

Class, Wealth, & Social Mobility

Documenting the magnitude of racial and ethnic disparities in wealth in the United States.

Health Equity

Investigating the sociocultural, economic, and structural indicators of health to eliminate health-related racial/ethnic and gender disparities.

Education Equity & Policy

Exploring the complex educational challenges facing various subgroups ranging from Pre-Kindergarteners to postsecondary students.

Policing Enforcement & Justice

Advancing research on the mechanisms that produce and maintain inequities within the criminal legal system and its broader consequences on society.

Environmental Justice

Focusing on the behavioral, social, cultural, and technological aspects of the global climate crisis for meaningful incorporation into environmental policy and decision making.