Complex social issues require complex solutions

We Facilitate That Discussion

We tell our students that one way to find your passion is to think about what keeps you up at night. Other than family, what keeps us up at night, and what motivates us every day to do the hard work of teaching and writing and speaking are the deep inequalities that so many women, Black people and other minorities, and the poor face in this the wealthiest country in the world. The United States is the land of opportunity, but our complex racial history and our unwillingness to confront it results in blocked opportunity for tens of millions of citizens of this great country. Complex social issues require complex solutions and our work is focused on both starting and sustaining these conversations in ways that offer the potential for realizing social change and bettering society for all its members, especially the most vulnerable.

Award winning sociologists

For All Our Hard Work & Dedication

Earl’s Awards:

  • College Sport Research Institute (CSRI) Lifetime Research Award (2018)
  • President, North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS)(2000)

Angela’s Awards:

  • Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) Distinguished Feminist Lecturer Award (2019)
  • Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Award for Contributions to the Educating the Community about Sexual Violence ( 2020)
  • United Bank Presidential Medal for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion. George Mason University (2018)

Earl Smith and Angela Hattery have been recognized by their peers, their universities and their communities for their contributions to social justice with the most prestigious awards in their fields.