Rate My Professor Deborah Balk

Deborah Balk is a professor in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York, specializing in social science fields such as demography. She joined Baruch in 2006 as associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 2010. Balk also holds professor appointments at the CUNY Graduate Center in Economics since 2007, Sociology since 2010, and other programs. As Director of the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research since August 2021—previously Interim Director (2020-2021) and Associate Director (2007-2020)—she leads demographic research initiatives. Her career includes research scientist roles at Columbia University's Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) since 2006, lead project scientist (2000-2006), research fellow at the East-West Center (1994-1997), and Mellon Post-Doctoral Scholar at the University of Michigan (1991-1994). Balk earned a PhD in Demography from the University of California, Berkeley (1991), an MPP in Public Policy from the University of Michigan (1985), and an AB in International Relations from the University of Michigan (1984).

Her research focuses on spatial demography, urbanization processes, population distribution, climate change vulnerabilities, and population-health-environment linkages. Key publications include "Nature inequity and higher COVID-19 case rates in less-green neighbourhoods in the United States" (Nature Sustainability, 2021), "Global harmonization of urbanization measures: Proceed with care" (Remote Sensing, 2021), "Estimating population and urban areas at risk of coastal hazards, 1990–2015: How data choices matter" (Earth System Science Data, 2021), "Heterogeneity and Change in Urban Population and Structure in the United States, 1990-2010" (Scientific Data, 2019), and earlier seminal works like "The rising tide: assessing the risks of climate change and human settlements in low elevation coastal zones" (Environment & Urbanization, 2007) and "Urban growth, climate change, and freshwater availability" (PNAS, 2011). Balk has received the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship (2016-2018) and other honors. She co-chairs the New York City Panel on Climate Change (4th Assessment, since 2019), serves on the Census Scientific Advisory Committee (since 2019), National Academy of Sciences Committee on Population (since 2019), and has been on editorial boards including Demography (2016-2019).