Khalida Zaki

Assistant Professor

Khalida Zaki is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology in the College of Social Science and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Institute of International Health, College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University (MSU).  She holds a PhD in Sociology from MSU, MA in Sociology from University of Baltimore, Maryland, MA and BA Honors in Economics from the University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. For more than 20 years of her distinguished career in the College of Social Science, she has held the positions of Visiting Assistant Professor of Integrative Studies in Social, economic and Behavioral Sciences; Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology; Undergraduate Program Director; and, Academic Specialist.

She has been a Visiting Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (Summer, 2003 & 2004), Pakistan.

She demonstrates excellence in enhancing global diversity through her teaching, advising, research, and professional activities. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, for example, she was honored with the All-University Faculty - Excellence in Diversity Award, at MSU in 2003. This prestigious award honors individuals who have demonstrated excellence in promoting diversity by performing activities above and beyond the call of normal duty.

Dr Zaki believes that global and interdisciplinary educational approach is essential to prepare younger generation for meeting the challenges of 21st century. A strong element of her credentials constitutes a robust network of colleagues with whom she has shared research, teaching, professional, and personal experiences; the network is spread across the departments of Social Sciences in the Middle East, South and East Asia, and United Kingdom. Her professional travels include universities in Canada, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and U.K.

She specializes in Social Demography, Rural and Community Sociology.  Her areas of teaching include Integrative Studies in Social Sciences, International Development and Change, Social, Cultural and Demographic Perspectives on South Asia, the regional and global context of Islam & gender, population, youth, national, and global diversity. Her research has focused on Pakistani-American immigration; Muslim-Americans healthcare issues; maternal and child health; Muslim-American youth, parental concerns and schools; women’s education, social status, and family planning in Pakistan.

Dr Zaki’s administrative experience engulfs academic advising, directing student organizations, graduate students admissions, and, teaching assistants training programs. As an Undergraduate Program Director, she was responsible for academic orientation, advising, graduation, and degree conferral matters of all Sociology majors, minors, and cognates, in the College of Social Science. She has been engaged in committees for undergraduate education and curriculum development at the department and college level.

Dr Zaki has played key leadership role in building international and university-community partnerships. She has been actively engaged in exploring opportunities of developing academic partnerships between MSU and Universities in Pakistan. Recently, she has been invited to lead collaborative programs between National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad and MSU. Currently, she is developing a NUST-MSU Faculty Development program on community health, in collaboration with MSU Institute of International Health; enhancing the MSU’s Global Mission of educating the world. 

Examples of Dr Zaki’s established university-community partnership have been evident through her funded projects with the Family and Community Development Services (FCDS), a non-profit organization, Lansing, Michigan; she played a pioneer, founding, and consulting role as a Professional Associate to the team in establishing the FCDS; she has been responsible for developing collaborative research projects, designing methodology, writing analyses, and recommendations for policy makers in Michigan Health Department, and Lansing-Area Schools.

At MSU she had many wonderful opportunities to make a difference in students’ lives. For example, in the post 9-11, she led and organized an international conference on “Islam and Gender: Social Change and Diversity in Muslim Communities,” 2006.  She has served on numerous advisory boards and committees, and has organized panels and presentations. Currently, she is an active member of MSU Asian Studies Center Advisory Council, Center for Gender in the Global Context, Muslim Studies Faculty, and, Center for Advanced Studies in International Development. 

Dr Zaki has been member of several professional social science associations, such as, American Sociological Association, Population Association of America, International Sociological Association, Michigan Sociological Association, Rural Sociological Society (America), Population Association of Pakistan, and Pakistan Society of Development Economists.

She has been frequently sought by media networks for commentaries and discussions on national and global issues. She has participated in many Round Table discussions in Voice of America Urdu Service, a worldwide radio broadcast from Washington D.C.

Dr Zaki an Innovative framework to study Cultural Factors of Health and Wellbeing among New Immigrants to the U.S. (Proposal)

Her recent publication is, “Pakistani-Americans: Immigration in the 1940s…,” in Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. Volume edited by Elliott Robert Barkan. ABC-CLIO, January 2013