DURHAM, N.H. - University of New Hampshire professor of sociology Kenneth Johnson has been named a 2016 Andrew Carnegie Fellow. He is among just 33 scholars nationwide selected to receive the country's most generous and most prestigious fellowships to advance research in the social sciences and humanities.

Fellows receive up to $200,000 from the Carnegie Corporation to fund scholarly research and writing aimed at addressing some of the world's most urgent challenges to U.S. democracy and international order. As a fellow, Johnson will advance and expand his work on the changing demographic structure of rural America and its implications.

"It gives me great pleasure to see our faculty receive the recognition they deserve on a national stage and for the Carnegie Corporation to recognize the important research being done every day at public flagship institutions," said UNH President Mark Huddleston.

The fellowship will allow Johnson, who is also senior demographer with UNH's Carsey School of Public Policy, to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the demographic data that is constantly released, mining it for insights into the impact of the Great Recession and an influx of Hispanics on rural America.

"These two powerful demographic forces have significant implications for three critical factors that influence access to opportunities: child poverty, local government resources and political incorporation," Johnson said. "Rural concerns are often overlooked in a policy environment dominated by urban-centric media, policymakers and foundation. Yet, a vibrant rural America contributes to the nation's intellectual and cultural diversity as well as provides most of the nation's food, fiber, minerals, clean air and clean water."

"This is an incredible honor," Johnson added. "I have studied rural America throughout my career and it is gratifying to see recognition for not only this often forgotten part of America but the important role the social sciences play in understanding big policy questions. Understanding the implications demographic change has for these critical elements of democracy will inform efforts to provide equal opportunities to rural residents so they can fully participate in American democracy."

Johnson has published a book and more than 70 peer-reviewed publications including numerous articles in leading academic journals. In addition, he is highly sought after for his expertise and ability to explain demographic information to a broad audience by reporters for national media outlets like The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and CNN. In 2013 Johnson received the university's faculty award for excellence in research and in 2011 he was recognized with the Rural Sociological Society's excellence in research award for outstanding contributions to rural research.

"We reviewed proposals from the nation's preeminent scholars and thinkers, as well as from the next generation of promising thinkers and writers," said Susan Hockfield, president emerita of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who chaired the panel of jurors. "The large number of truly outstanding proposals makes the jury's task difficult, but it also renews our confidence that social science and humanistic perspectives will—and must—contribute to designing solutions to today's most complex challenges."

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 13,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students.

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Caption: University of New Hampshire professor of sociology Kenneth Johnson has been named a 2016 Andrew Carnegie Fellow