In the News: Jennifer Karas Montez

Jennifer Karas Montez

"Education shapes health and mortality," says Jennifer Karas Montez, Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar of Aging Studies. "If I had to pick three pieces of information about somebody and predict their life expectancy, I would want to know age, sex and education level. It’s that important." Read more in the American Heart Association News article, "More education may mean a longer, healthier life." 08/17/17

Jennifer Karas Montez, Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar of Aging Studies, was quoted in the Reuters article, "U.S. life expectancy varies by two decades depending on location." "The bottom line is that our life expectancy is increasingly being shaped by where we live within the U.S.," says Karas Montez. "Lifestyle behaviors are not causes, they are symptoms. They are symptoms of the environment and the social and economic deprivation that many parts of the country now endure thanks to decades of policy decisions."

Syracuse University held the inaugural One University Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, April 25, in Hendricks Chapel, honoring dozens of members of the University community for their scholarship, teaching, academic achievement, leadership and service. The following Maxwell faculty member and students were among the honorees:

Jennifer Karas Montez, Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar of Aging Studies, discusses the relationship between education and mortality in the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond article, "The Mortality Gap." "There's really nothing inherently causal about the relationship between education and mortality," she says. "The context we're living in shapes that relationship. Do you live in an environment where education opens the door to getting a good job, to having health care, to living in a safe neighborhood? Or do you have some other initial advantages or safety net that make your own human capital less important?" 04/03/17

Jennifer Karas Montez, assistant professor of sociology, was quoted in The Daily Orange article, "Male politicians should follow the example of New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo and defend women’s reproductive rights." "This policy position that he’s taking is probably the most beneficial and most exciting, in terms of actually improving population health, that I have heard proposed in a very, very long time,” said Karas Montez. 02/10/17

Anna Zajacova & Jennifer Karas Montez

Jennifer Karas Montez, Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar of Aging Studies, was quoted in the Associated Press article, " US life expectancy falls, as many kinds of death increase." According to Karas Montez, "The troubling trends are most pronounced for the people who are the most disadvantaged.

In recognition of her contributions to the field of aging studies, Jennifer Karas Montez, assistant professor of sociology, has been named the Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar in Aging Studies for the academic years 2016-17 through 2018-19.