Jennifer Patrice Sims is a sociologist who specializes in the study of race/ethnicity. Taking mixed-race people as her main focus, Dr. Sims’ research examines racial construction, perception, and identity in the US and UK as well as interrogates how knowledge about race is produced and disseminated by the scientific community.
She has conducted statistical analysis of survey data to examine perceptions of mixed-race attractiveness, qualitative interviews to study mixed-race people’s experiences navigating racial ambiguity, and experiments testing the influence of hairstyle on racial perception. Her co-authored book, Mixed-Race in the US and UK: Comparing the Past, Present, and Future, won the 2020 Stanford M. Lyman Distinguished Book Award from the Mid-South Sociological Association. Dr. Sims’ research has been covered in The Washington Post, Psychology Today, and Wisconsin Public Radio; and she has appeared on local (WHNT News 19) and international (BBC World News) television broadcasts.
In addition to her research, Dr. Sims organized an international team of scholars to produce the first book-length sociological analysis of Harry Potter and frequently uses material from fictional series to illustrate sociological concepts in the classroom. Her teaching also utilizes collaborative learning activities, and she was a 2018 UAH Collaborative Learning Fellow. In 2021, Dr. Sims received the Distinguished Contribution to Teaching Award from the Southern Sociological Society.
After completing her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014, Dr. Sims taught as an Adjunct Professor at UW-River Falls before coming to UAH as an Assistant Professor in 2017.
