Florencia Torche

Florencia Torche
Born
Chile
Academic background
EducationBA, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
MA, 2000, PhD, 2004, Columbia University
ThesisMobility Patterns in Chile in Comparative Perspective
Academic work
InstitutionsPrinceton University
Stanford University
New York University
Queens College, City University of New York
Main interestsStratification and Mobility
Social Demography
Social Determinants of Health

Florencia Torche is a Chilean sociologist. She is the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Public and International Affairs and Sociology at Princeton University. Torche is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on the persistence of inequality across generations.

Early life and education

Torche was born and raised in Chile during Augusto Pinochet's reign.[1] She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Catholic University of Chile before moving to the United States for her Master's degree and PhD at Columbia University.[2]

Career

Upon completing her PhD in 2004, Torche became an assistant professor of Sociology at Queens College, City University of New York. She left the institution in 2006 to become an associate professor at New York University (NYU).[3] During her early years at NYU, Torche studied social mobility in Latin America compared to the United States and Europe.[1] She received NYU's Stephen Charney Vladeck Junior Faculty Fellowship in 2009 to fund her assessment of the modern-day "worth" of a United States college degree.[4][5]

Torche left NYU in 2016 to become a professor of sociology at Stanford University.[6] In early 2020, Torche was recognized by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Academy of Sciences in recognition of her research into inequality.[7][8] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Torche and sociologist Jenna Nobles conducted studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in California on women of different socioeconomic status. They found that women of lower socioeconomic status were more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 while pregnant and often gave birth prematurely.[9][10] This study earned them one of the 2023 Cozzarelli Prizes from the National Academy of Sciences.[11] Torche was also named the American Academy of Political and Social Science's inaugural Sara McLanahan Fellow.[12] Following her promotion to Dunlevie Family Professor at Princeton in 2022,[3] Torche was selected as a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences for the 2023–24 academic year.[13]

Torche left Stanford in 2024 to become the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Blanding, Michael (May 2, 2025). "Florencia Torche Seeks to Understand the Roots of Opportunity". paw.princeton.edu. Princeton University. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  2. ^ "Florencia Torche". Princeton University. Archived from the original on January 20, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Florencia Torche". American Academy of Political and Social Science. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  4. ^ "Stephen Charney Vladeck Junior Faculty Fellowship". New York University. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  5. ^ Torche, Florencia (November 2011). "Is a College Degree Still the Great Equalizer? Intergenerational Mobility across Levels of Schooling in the United States1". American Journal of Sociology. 117 (3): 763–807. doi:10.1086/661904. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  6. ^ "Stanford Sociology welcomes four new faculty members". Stanford University. July 1, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  7. ^ "Congratulations to Professor Florencia Torche, Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences". Stanford University. May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  8. ^ "15 Stanford faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences". Stanford University. April 23, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  9. ^ McDermott, Amy (December 23, 2022). "COVID-19 increases pregnancy risks. Poorer communities shoulder most of the burden". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  10. ^ Torche, Florencia; Nobles, Jenna (December 5, 2023). "Vaccination, immunity, and the changing impact of COVID-19 on infant health". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 120 (49). Bibcode:2023PNAS..12011573T. doi:10.1073/pnas.2311573120. PMC 10710065. PMID 38011548.
  11. ^ "PNAS Announces Six 2023 Cozzarelli Prize Recipients". National Academy of Sciences. 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  12. ^ "American Academy of Political and Social Science Announces 2024 Fellowships". American Academy of Political and Social Science. March 13, 2024. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  13. ^ "CASBS Announces 2023-24 Fellows". Stanford University. March 13, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  14. ^ "Board approves nine faculty appointments". princeton.edu. Princeton University. March 29, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2025.

See also