Dr. Kerry Ard’s research investigates how social processes create and sustain environmental inequalities across race and class and examines how these inequities contribute to health disparities. Drawing on sociological frameworks, Dr. Ard explores the arc of environmental inequality—from its political origins to its impacts on health disparities—emphasizing that sociological insights are crucial for understanding the roots of environmental risks and their health consequences. Current evidence demonstrates that pollution is unequally distributed by race and class, and Dr. Ard advocates for future research to focus on identifying actionable social and political solutions that address these disparities. Across all her work, Dr. Ard aims to uncover political leverage points to mitigate social inequalities. She has presented her findings to the U.S. Senate Climate Task Force, and her research has been cited on the Senate floor during deliberations. Dr. Ard has co-led Ohio State University’s Sustainability Institute’s Smart and Resilient Communities and Race and Sustainability research groups, collaborating with private organizations, such as American Electric Power, to develop industry policies that improve the social welfare of the communities they serve. She is a co-PI for a $1.3 million EPA STAR grant to analyze Climate Change Related Chemical and Non-Chemical Stressor Exposures: Cumulative Health Impacts and Risk Trajectories in Vulnerable Ohio Census Tracts. Additionally, she has been elected to represent the Environmental Section of both the American Sociological Association and the International Sociological Association.
