I study poverty, social policy, and families. I am interested in how the lives of children and families are affected by poverty and economic inequality. Current research focuses on understanding variations in poverty and family policy in rural America, Oregon, and across countries.

This work is supported by research grants from the Institute for Research on Poverty, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC). Findings have been published in leading journals including Journal of Marriage and Family, Children and Youth Services Review, Family Relations, and Child Indicators Research. For a full list see publications page.

I am currently recruiting graduate students under my supervision.

Current CV

College of Public Health and Human Sciences
462 Waldo Hall
Corvallis, OR 97331

Phone: 541-737-1081

Schedule a meeting during my office hours.

Email: david [dot] rothwell @ oregonstate.edu

My background: Born and raised in Oregon, I attended Pitzer College for undergraduate studies. After teaching English in Japan, I finished my MSW at Tulane University and worked as a social worker in adult mental health at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Orleans. I went on to earn a doctorate in social welfare from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National University of Singapore. Prior to joining OSU in 2016, I was an Associate Professor of Social Work at McGill University in Montreal.