UTSA professor appointed to Census Scientific Advisory Committee

MAY 4, 2022 — Rogelio Sáenz, a professor in the UTSA Department of Demography, has been selected for membership to the Census Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC). Sáenz has spent his career examining census data and methods, and his appointment will help the committee measure all populations properly to disburse federal funds.

The CSAC is a 21-member board appointed by the director of the Census Bureau. The committee provides recommendations on the design, operation and implementation of Bureau programs. It also aims to address emerging Census challenges including demographic, economic and statistical research, adaptive design, cyber infrastructure, and technical and operational priorities.

“I am extremely honored to have been selected to serve on this major Census Bureau committee,” Sáenz said. “From the time that I was an undergraduate student, I have worked closely with Census data, and I am very pleased to work in this capacity.”

“From the time that I was an undergraduate student, I have worked closely with Census data, and I am very pleased to work in this capacity.”

Planning for the 2030 Census is well underway. The Census Bureau’s ability to develop a system that offers a more complete count of the nation’s population is a high priority—especially for groups that traditionally have been undercounted to a significant degree, including Native Americans, Latinos and African Americans.  

“Dr. Sáenz has been chosen for this important role because of his expertise in Census data and methods,” said Lynne Cossman, dean of the UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy (HCaP). “His role on this board will be key in helping ensure that the nation is measuring all populations and measuring them properly.”

Sáenz is a sociologist and demographer in HCaP. He has written extensively on demography, Latina/os, race, inequality, immigration, COVID-19, health disparities, aging, public policy and social justice. He is the co-author of “Latinos in the United States: Diversity and Change” and the co-editor of the “International Handbook of the Demography of Race and Ethnicity.

Sáenz regularly writes op-eds and research briefs for various media and academic outlets throughout the country.

UTSA is a Tier One research university and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) that is committed to tackling society’s grand challenges through world-class education and research programs. As an urban serving university, it is driving San Antonio’s knowledge economy, living out the notion that great universities need great cities and great cities need great universities.

Sáenz’s research is one example of the many programs underway at UTSA that seek to address the challenges of the urban population.

Last year, he was recognized with the 2021 Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award from the American Sociological Association. The year before, he received the Saber es Poder Academic Excellence Award from the University of Arizona’s Department of Mexican American Studies and.

In 2021, he was inducted to the UTSA Academy of Distinguished Researchers, which was established to select and honor outstanding faculty who are accomplished scholars and who share the university’s continuing commitment to research excellence.

— Amanda Cerreto