International Research Hub to be created at the Institute for Social Research
June 3, 2025
Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected])
ANN ARBOR — The Institute for Social Research’s (ISR) Survey Research Center (SRC) and Population Studies Center (PSC) are teaming up to launch the International Research Hub, a new resource that will support and expand social research worldwide.
Sited at PSC, the Hub will support University of Michigan faculty and staff working on international research, leveraging strengths and partnerships across ISR’s five centers. William Axinn, co-director of the Chitwan Valley Family Study and former director of SRC, will lead the initiative as the inaugural Ronald and Deborah Freedman Director of the program.
“Consistent with our long-term strategic plans, and timely as the need to diversify our funding portfolio grows, I was delighted to accept this role,” Axinn said. “Moments of challenge and adversity are always also opportunities to grow and strengthen our institution. In this role, I will work to help launch new international research collaborations, to assist in identifying potential funding sources, and — if need be — to assist in navigating project specific solutions to changes in U.S. government policies regarding funding for work outside of the U.S.”
Axinn is a research professor affiliated with SRC and PSC at the Institute for Social Research, and is a professor in the Department of Sociology, South Asian Studies and, by courtesy, in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. A sociologist and demographer, his research interests have centered on research methods, family change, and mental health in the United States and Nepal. He specializes in the creation of new data to study population-scale changes over time.
The research centers launching the initiative, SRC and PSC, are leaders in data collection operations, longitudinal research, and population science. The directorship is named for Deborah and PSC founder Ron Freedman, whose work, beginning in Taiwan in the 1960s, became synonymous with international studies of fertility and family planning.
“The International Research Hub represents an important part of ISR’s ongoing research priorities: our commitment to international and interdisciplinary collaboration,” said Kate Cagney, director of the Institute for Social Research. “We believe the Hub will serve as a key resource for international research for years to come.”
The International Research Hub will build on ISR’s expertise and infrastructure to advance global research, while contributing to ISR’s core aim of training the next generation of scholars.
The Hub’s work will emphasize data collection and representative studies of general populations, supporting four key objectives:
- To create long-term research partnerships in multiple settings
- To build international research capacity at partner organization
- To promote data creation and data sharing to advance science and public policy
- To conduct population research designed to improve health and well-being
Axinn will formally begin his role as director of the International Research Hub on July 1, 2025. University of Michigan faculty and staff looking to collaborate with the International Research Hub can reach out via the contact form on the International Research Hub webpage to discuss their needs and interests.