Biography: David J. Pate, Jr. holds the Deans’ Fathers and Fathering Faculty Fellowship and is an Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Consumer Science in the School of Human Ecology, as well as holds an affiliated professor status in the Department of Social Work, Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, Institute for Research on Poverty, and Center for Law, Society & Justice at UW Madison.  

Professor Pate’s research projects have involved examining the effects of social welfare policy on Black adult males' life course events through qualitative research methods. His research examines the social and economic determinants of poverty for Black males, as well as variables such as involvement with the child support services program, legal barriers, and previous traumatic experiences that may affect their adult well-being.. 

In 2010, he served as the social scientist for the law firm of WilmerHale (Washington, D.C) on a U.S. Supreme Court case (Turner v Rogers, 564 U.S. 431) which focused on non-custodial parents, right to counsel, and incarceration in child support proceedings.  

He has appeared in The New York Times, Milwaukee Sentinel, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, NPR, WUWM (Milwaukee NPR affiliate), Wisconsin Public Radio, WNYC (New York NPR affiliate), and The Jim Lehrer Report (PBS Newshour), as well as published in major academic journals and media outlets.