Jason L. Cummings, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Cummings obtained his PhD from Indiana University. As a trained medical sociologist, his work investigates the socio-historical and present-day consequences of racism, racial (white) privilege, racial stratification, and their manifold contribution to racial and ethnic differentials in mental health and quality of life. His work is undergirded by two theoretical perspectives (e.g. intersectionality and Critical Race Theory) and span multiple areas, including interrogating: (1) how racial and gender differentials in health/well-being in the U.S. have changed since the 1970s and the social, political, and economic origins of these changes; (2) whether racial “misclassification” or socially assigned race (i.e. being perceived as White by others) influences (benefits) the socioeconomic and health status of persons of color; and (3) the mental health of African American emerging adults: exploring the effects of racial stratification, racism, whiteness, and racialized stress.

Dr. Cummings' work has been published in several journals and book chapters including Social Problems, Research on Aging, Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, Quality of Life Research, Social Indicators Research, Population Research and Policy Review, International Journal for Equity in Health, and Journal of Happiness Studies.

Education

PhD, Sociology
Indiana University, 2013

MA, Sociology
Indiana University, 2004

BA, Sociology/English
Fairfield University, 2002

Specialty Area

Medical Sociology; Mental Health, Health Care Disparities; Quality of Life; Gender, Race/Ethnicity; Racism; Whiteness; Social Stratification & Inequality; Higher Education; Critical Race Theory; Intersectionality; Quantitative Methods

Professional/Community Affiliations

American Sociological Association
Southern Sociological Society
Midwest Sociological Society
The Association of Black Sociologists

Courses Taught

Society in a Global Age
Sociology of African American Experience
Sociology of Health Care
Race and Ethnic Relations
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (Graduate)

Publications/Research Listings

Lewis, Kaleea R, Kymbriona Taylor, Tiara Watson and Jason L. Cummings. 2026. “These experiences kill you emotionally”: Examining how Black Emerging Adults Construct Meaning of Race-Based Traumatic Stress.” Emerging Adulthood. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/21676968261424937

Lewis, Kaleea R, Jason L. Cummings, Katrina M. Walsemann, and Emily S. Mann. 2025. “They Don’t Have to Make Room for Me Because This is Their Space: Black College Students’ Narratives of Racism, Whiteness, and Mental Health." Social Problems.

Cummings, Jason L. 2023. “Entangled Inequalities: U.S. Trends in Self-Rated Health at the Intersection of Gender and Race, 1972-2018.” Social Indicators Research.

Bardo, Anthony R. and Jason L. Cummings. 2023. “Life, Longevity, and the Pursuit of Happiness: The Role of Disability in Shaping Racial and Sex Disparities in Living a Long and Happy Life.” Population Research and Policy Review.

White, Kellee, Jourdyn Lawrence,* Nedelina Tchangalova, Shuo J. Huang, and Jason L. Cummings. 2020. “Socially Assigned Race and Health: A Scoping Review with Global Implications for Population Health Equity.” International Journal for Equity in Health. 19: 1-14.

Cummings, Jason L. 2020. “Assessing U.S. Racial and Gender Differences in Happiness, 1972- 2016: An Intersectional Approach” Journal of Happiness Studies: 21: 709-732.

White, Kellee, Jourdyn Lawrence,* Jason L. Cummings and Calley Fisk.* 2019. “Emotional and Physical Reactions to Perceived Discrimination, Language Preference and Health-Related Quality of Life among Latinos and Whites.” Quality of Life Research. 28: 2799- 2811.

Lawrence, Jourdyn A.*, Kellee White, Jason L. Cummings, James W. Hardin, Myriam E. Torres. 2019. “Socially Assigned Race and Diabetes: Findings from the Arizona Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2013-2014.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. 6:926- 934.

Cummings, Jason L. 2017. “Race and Physical Health.” The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, edited by George Ritzer. London: Wiley-Blackwell.

Cummings, Jason L. 2017. “Race and Mental Health.” The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, edited by George Ritzer. London: Wiley-Blackwell.

News

Dr. Cummings delivered the keynote "From Static to Signal: Answering the Century-Long Call for Health Equity in Illinois” on October 21, 2025, at the Illinois Minority Health Conference, tracing a century of racial health disparities in Illinois and how social and political determinants shape life expectancy and pathways to lasting health equity.

Dr. Cummings recently served as a panelist on an online webinar hosted by the Paul W. Cain Foundation and Terry Performance Group entitled: "Health Inequity: Advocating for Life" on the panel, Dr. Cummings shared his research and expertise—providing personal advocacy tactics when engaging with the health care system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUWTdBsBfjg

Dr. Cummings' research on the health profiles of the Black Middle Class referenced in a Brookings Institution Article: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2021/05/04/is-the-united-states-a-racist-country/

Dr. Cummings' collaborative work on Socially Assigned Race and Health Equity was profiled on the Harvard University's T.H. Chan's School of Public Health's Website: https://fxb.harvard.edu/2020/03/10/new-research-on-socially-assigned-race-and-health-inequity-and-on-mass-incarceration-and-preterm-birth/

Dr. Cummings quoted in L'Espresso, a prominent French newspaper in an article on the COVID Pandemic, Racial Injustice and the November 2020 Presidential Election. https://espresso.repubblica.it/plus/articoli/2020/10/01/news/elezioni-usa-south-carolina-1.353768/

Dr. Cummings quoted in the Post and Courier in an article titled: "Long-term inequities put SC minorities at higher risk for coronavirus exposure and death." https://www.postandcourier.com/health/covid19/long-term-inequities-put-sc-minorities-at-higher-risk-for-coronavirus-exposure-and-death/article_9d557788-799d-11ea-a89e-a7d97f6247a1.html

Dr. Cummings quoted in The State in an article titled: "Out-of-the-way places struggle with coronavirus in SC" focusing on racial disparities in health in the rural south. https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article241832581.html