Christopher Jencks

Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy
Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Office Address
Taubman-414
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 103
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-0546
Fax: 617-496-9053
Email: christopher_jencks@Harvard.Edu
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Profile

Christopher Sandy Jencks is the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy. He has taught at Harvard, Northwestern, the University of Chicago, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Earlier, he was a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC (1963 to 1967) and an editor of theNew Republic (1961 to 1963). He is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the American Prospect. His recent research deals with changes in family structure over the past generation, the costs and benefits of economic inequality, the extent to which economic advantages are inherited, and the effects of welfare reform. His books include The Academic Revolution (with David Riesman); Inequality: Who Gets Ahead?; The Urban Underclass (with Paul Peterson); Rethinking Social Policy; The Homeless; and The Black White Test Score Gap (with Meredith Phillips).

Click here for his papers at the Social Science Research Network

Courses

Spring

  • HLE-512 Proseminar in Inequality and Social Policy II

Media Expertise

Christopher Jencks welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

Research for a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Magazine and Newspaper Articles
    • Jencks, Christopher. "Reinventing the American Dream." Chronicle of Higher Education. October 2008, B6-B8.
  • Op-Eds
    • Jencks, Christopher. "Reinventing the American Dream." Chronicle of Higher Education, October 17, 2008.
  • Reviews
    • Jencks, Christopher. "The Immigration Charade." Review of State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America, by Patrick J. Buchanan. New York Review of Books, 54.14 September 27, 2007: 49-52.