Jamie Winders, professor of geography and the environment, was among the honorees at a recent celebration of migrants and their contributions to the fabric of American society hosted by the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) in New York City.

Winders was honored with the Excellence in International Migration Scholarship Award at the center’s annual gala in early November. Established in 1964 by the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles, the center is a think tank that studies international migration and advocates for public policies that protect the rights and dignity of migrants.

Winders, who also serves as associate provost for faculty affairs at Syracuse University, was recognized for her numerous contributions to the center’s flagship journal, the International Migration Review (IMR), which she edited from October 2017 until June 2022.

At the event, Donald Kerwin, executive director of CMS, thanked Winders for her leadership and contributions to the organization and its publications.  

“Jamie was an extraordinarily successful steward of the journal during the COVID-19 period,” Kerwin said. “IMR experienced massive increases in submissions, and she was also a great innovator at the journal. We’re very grateful to CMS, to IMR and to the broader immigrant studies field, and we’re pleased to honor her.”

Winders accepted the honor virtually. “Working with IMR was an amazing experience,” she said. “It’s a foundational journal in migration studies with this really powerful history of using research to improve the lives of migrants.”

In her acceptance address, Winders said, “We’re in a moment where migrants in so many places are under attack and where the myths about migration are doing a lot of damage in the world around us. IMR and CMS both play really crucial roles in speaking truths about migration, about its impacts. …This work is so important in this moment, to speak these truths and to use them to counter these myths that we’re hearing.”

Winders researches international migration and the politics of belonging as well as racial formations and dynamics, and the politics of social reproduction. She’s also regarded for her expertise on artificial intelligence and autonomous systems—this past summer, she was among the presenters who offered perspectives on advanced air mobility technologies at a White House summit.