People

Research Interests:

William Axinn is professor of survey research, population studies, sociology and public policy (by courtesy) and a faculty associate in South Asian Studies at the University of Michigan. He directs the Society, Population, and Environment (SPE) program at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR). The SPE program spans both the Survey Research Center (SRC) and Population Studies Center (PSC) at ISR.

Axinn’s research focuses on the design and implementation of large, population representative studies of social influences on health and wellbeing in both the United States and Nepal. He is the co-director of the Chitwan Valley Family Study, which has run continuously for 30 years. He also assists teams designing and implementing large scale studies worldwide and he is a long term member of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative.

Axinn was recently appointed the Ronald and Deborah Freedman Director of the International Research Hub at ISR—positioning him to connect organizations worldwide to Michigan’s exceptional social research strengths and support new cross-campus international work. In this capacity, Axinn supports both collaborating organizations worldwide and U-M faculty and staff engaged in global research, capitalizing on the expertise and partnerships of ISR’s five centers.

Axinn is also the interim director of the International Policy Center (IPC) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.