Richard Benton

Richard Benton is an Associate Professor in the School of Labor and Employment Relations and the Sociology Department at the University of Illinois. He also serves as Executive Director of the Climate Jobs Institute. His research focuses on corporate governance, social networks, economic sociology, and social stratification, particularly examining network dynamics among U.S. corporate leaders. He co-authors the Illinois Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation Report and has been funded by the National Science Foundation and Russell Sage Foundation.

• Education: PhD in Sociology from North Carolina State University (postdoc at Duke University).
• Research Interests: Corporate networks, shareholder activism, labor market dynamics, and social inequality.

His work has appeared in journals like Strategic Management Journal and Social Networks. He has published 28 research outputs, with recent studies analyzing workplace mobility during the pandemic and corporate responses to polarization.

• Grants: NSF and Russell Sage Foundation funding.
• Key Projects: Corporate board diversity reporting, pandemic-era firm communication strategies.

Labs/Teams: Active in interdisciplinary research through the Climate Jobs Institute and collaborates widely on labor and corporate governance studies.