Joseph N. Cooper

Joseph N. Cooper is the Dr. J. Keith Motley Endowed Chair of Sport Leadership and Administration, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Black Life, and an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston. He earned his bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Recreation Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his master's degree in Sport Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and doctorate in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sport Management and Policy from the University of Georgia. His research agenda focuses on the intersection between sport, education, race, and culture with an emphasis on sport involvement as a catalyst for holistic development. He has presented research at international, national, and regional conferences and published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, solo authored books, edited books, and op-ed contributions. As a result of his research, he earned the following recognitions: 2009 John E. Billing Outstanding Graduate Research Merit Award at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2016 Outstanding Early Career Scholar Award from the University of Connecticut (UConn) Neag School of Education, 2018 Sociology of Sport Journal (SSJ) Early Career Researcher Award, and 2020 Sociology of Sport Journal (SSJ) Outstanding Book Award Finalist. He has also been cited in various media outlets include the New York Times, Boston Globe, ESPN, Le Monde, ABC News, Yahoo, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, and USA Today. He is the author of From Exploitation Back to Empowerment: Black Male Holistic (Under)Development Through Sport and (Mis)Education (2019) (Peter Lang) and A Legacy of African American Resistance and Activism Through Sport (2021) (Peter Lang). He has a forthcoming edited book titled, Anti-Racism in Sport Organizations (2022) (Texas A&M University Sport Management Press).