Catherine Pakaluk, a Catholic economist and mother, has been named executive director of the Institute for Human Ecology (IHE) at the Catholic University of America, succeeding Russell Hittinger.
“Joyful personal news!” Pakaluk said in an X post about the new position. “May it please God, many fruitful initiatives will blossom under its canopy.”
Pakaluk holds a doctorate in economics from Harvard and has taught at Catholic University for several years. She is perhaps best known for her book Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth. In the process of writing Hannah’s Children, she interviewed 55 women with more than 5 children each to understand better what motivates some women to have large families in a time of widespread contraception use and declining birthrates.
“Children bring us a lot of joy, purpose, and meaning, and as long as we’re willing to take a longer view, we don’t see an economic problem with them,” Pakaluk told The Hungarian Conservative earlier this year. “You know, some people like to climb mountains. Some people like extreme sports. And why not children?”
Pakaluk says that she looks forward to beginning work as the new executive director of the IHE. She also indicated that she would have big shoes to fill, since Hittinger, the current director, is a renowned expert in Catholic social teaching and natural law.
“Following Russ [Hittinger] at the IHE is profoundly meaningful to me,” she said, according to the Catholic University of America. “It was Russ who introduced me to the mind of the Church on natural law and social thought. When I was an undergraduate in a radically secular university, he represented something novel: a model of the intellectual life uniting philosophical excellence, theological rigor, and deep faith.”
Hittinger will remain as a research professor with Catholic University’s School of Philosophy.
The IHE is an interdisciplinary institute “committed to identifying the economic, cultural, and social conditions vital for human flourishing,” according to the Catholic University of America. Founded in 2016, it takes particular inspiration from Pope Saint John Paul II, who called for a renewed study of human ecology repeatedly during his pontificate.
Pakaluk will begin her service as the head of the IHE Jan. 1, 2026.
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