Pilar Gonalons-Pons Named Alber-Klingelhofer Presidential Assistant Professor

Pilar Gonalons-Pons, Assistant Professor of Sociology, has been named Alber-Klingelhofer Presidential Assistant Professor of Sociology. Gonalons-Pons studies how gender, work, families, and public policies structure economic inequalities, with a particular focus on how inequalities change over time and over the life course. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before coming to Penn in 2017, Gonalons-Pons was a post-doctoral fellow at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and a research affiliate at the Cornell University Population Center. She has published articles in leading journals such as the American Sociological Review, Demography, and Socio-Economic Review, and her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation.

Laura J. Alber, C'90, and Ned Klingelhofer, parents, established the Alber-Klingelhofer Presidential Professorship in 2020. Laura Alber graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences in 1990 with a degree in psychology. She is a University Trustee, a member of the Parent Leadership Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Penn Arts & Sciences Board of Advisors. Alber is Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Ned Klingelhofer is a portfolio manager at Bitterroot Enterprises and a member of the Parent Leadership Committee. Alber and Klingelhofer’s previous Penn support includes the Alber-Klingelhofer Scholarship, the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics, the Arts & Sciences Annual Fund, and Athletics.