Kenneth Ferraro

Faculty Associate: Center on Aging and the Life Course

Ph.D., University of Akron, (1981)

Specialization

aging; health; life course analysis; cumulative inequality

Professor Ferraro uses a life course perspective to study health inequality and developed cumulative inequality theory for the study of aging, stratification, and health.  His topical areas of research include racial/ethnic disparities, obesity, and the early origins of adult health.  He is the author of over 135 refereed-journal articles in publications such as the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, American Journal of Public Health, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, Social Forces, and Social Psychology Quarterly.  Several of his former students hold faculty positions at research universities including Case Western Reserve, Johns Hopkins, Minnesota, Nebraska, Toronto, Wayne State, and Chung-Ang (South Korea).  Ferraro was the founding Director of the Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue University and was named Distinguished Professor of Sociology in 2008.