Sara McLanahan, the William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, is the recipient of the prestigious Thomas C. Schelling Award from Harvard University. The award is bestowed annually to an individual "whose remarkable intellectual work has had a transformative impact on public policy."

The award is named for Thomas Schelling, the Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Political Economy, Emeritus, at the Harvard Kennedy School, who is internationally renowned for his work on game theory, specifically in regards to the dangers of nuclear war. He received the 2005 Nobel Prize for Economics. Schelling has held various positions in the White House and the Executive Office of the President, and is now Distinguished University Professor at the University Of Maryland School Of Public Policy.

“The Woodrow Wilson School salutes Sara McLanahan on this outstanding achievement that recognizes her research on child wellbeing,” said Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School.   “Having worked with and followed Sara’s research, this award is a testament to her long-term commitment to examining those issues that affect children’s welfare.”

McLanahan directs the Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing (CRCW), an interdisciplinary center at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. The center is concerned with a broad range of children's issues, including education, health care, income sufficiency, and family/community resources. Its long-term goal is to identify economically efficient, politically feasible policies that address children's needs in each of these areas.

McLanahan is also the principal investigator on the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and editor-in-chief of The Future of Children, a journal dedicated to providing research and analysis to promote effective policies and programs for children. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of non-traditional family structures. She is the author of "Single Mothers and their Children: A New America Dilemma," (with Irwin Garfinkel), "Growing Up with a Single Parent," (with Gary Sandefur), and more than 100 articles.

“I am deeply honored to be the recipient of this prestigious award,” said McLanahan.   “This award acknowledges the research I have done, but also reinforces my belief that research should inform policies designed to help children and their families.”  

The Schelling award will be presented on May 2 during a ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School.   Previous recipients have included Judge Richard Posner (2005), the Woodrow Wilson School’s Daniel Kahneman (2006), and Harold Varmus (2009).

At the awards ceremony, McLanahan will join former U.S. Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Sam Nunn (D-GA) who will jointly receive the Richard E. Neustadt Award. The Neustadt award is bestowed by the Kennedy School annually to an individual or individuals who have created powerful solutions to public problems, drawing on research and intellectual ideas as appropriate.   The two Senators spearheaded bipartisan efforts in Congress to secure dangerous nuclear weapons materials in the former Soviet Union.

Funding for the awards has been provided by the David Rubenstein Fund for Kennedy School Excellence. The fund was established in 2004 by David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of the Carlyle Group.   Rubenstein also serves as a member of the Woodrow Wilson School’s Advisory Council, which advises the School on its programs and activities.