Yancey Leads Sessions on Understanding Racial Issues in Higher Education

August 19, 2015

Dr. George Yancey, professor of sociology at the University of North Texas, visited the OBU campus Aug. 17 and 18. He met with faculty, staff and administration from numerous departments across campus on the topic of understanding racial issues, biases and perspectives in the Christian higher education environment.

His visit was facilitated by the Faith and Disciplines Committee, in cooperation with the Faculty Development Committee and the New Faculty Orientation Committee. The sessions were part of the fall semester's back-to-school professional development.

After graduating West Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Dr. Yancey attended the University of Texas at Austin and received a doctorate in sociology. His initial areas of study addressed interracial romance and multiracial churches. More recently, he began to study academic bias and has conducted research on anti-Christian attitudes in the United States. He is working to establish a program for Christian Studies at the University of North Texas. It will be the first center concentrating on conducting critical, but non-hostile, research for the purpose of helping Christians better serve their communities and the larger society.

He is a well-known speaker and author, and he has written numerous books, including "Transcending Racial Barriers," "One Body, One Spirit," "Beyond Racial Gridlock," "Compromising Scholarship," and more. He also has written 29 academic articles dealing with some aspect of racial issues. He is a frequent speaker on racial issues in churches, at retreats and at various conferences.