Kevin Lamarr James is a sociologist with specialization in racial and ethnic relations. He has served over a decade in faculty, research, administrative and community engagement roles in higher education. He has demonstrated commitment to supporting undergraduate students, with extensive experience working with Black, Native American and Latinx students, first-generation, and LGBT students.
James was the Director of Service Learning & Director of Undergraduate Studies for UIC Sociology, where he created partnerships for the Igniting Sociological Futures senior capstone program. In addition to teaching a range of undergraduate courses in Sociology and in Black Studies, in 2015 he successfully piloted a dual-enrollment initiative with Whitney Young High School in an effort to attract academically ambitious Chicago Public School students to attend UIC.
Previously, James served as Director of Community Engagement at Adler University where he developed and maintained strategic partnerships with more than 200 community-based organizations in Chicago. Working in collaboration with faculty, he developed, implemented and evaluated a 23-week social justice curriculum and internship program for over 300 first-year students. This program was integral to the University receiving the 2015 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an institutional honor, for the investment in activities that strengthen bonds between campus and community.
Dr. James was also the Founding Director of Indiana University South Bend’s Civil Rights Heritage Center at the Natatorium; a co-curricular educational and cultural facility that uses civil rights history to promote diversity, inclusion, and improved race relations. He was responsible for creating the vision, launching the Center, training and developing staff, operations, and programming that engaged faculty, students and the community-at-large. He received three grants to establish an African American Landmark Tour of 18 sites with historical significance to South Bend’s black migration to the north and advancement toward equal rights. In 2011, the City of South Bend was recipient of the nationally recognized All-America City Award, due in large part to the Center’s work to improve racial and ethnic relations in the region.
Kevin is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, and is a Life Member of the Association of Black Sociologists. James currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Village Leadership Academy (an independent school in Chicago), and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. He is a 2015-2016 fellow in the Chicago Urban League and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business IMPACT Leadership Program, and a 2016-2017 Policy and Social Engagement Fellow of the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy.
James was the Director of Service Learning & Director of Undergraduate Studies for UIC Sociology, where he created partnerships for the Igniting Sociological Futures senior capstone program. In addition to teaching a range of undergraduate courses in Sociology and in Black Studies, in 2015 he successfully piloted a dual-enrollment initiative with Whitney Young High School in an effort to attract academically ambitious Chicago Public School students to attend UIC.
Previously, James served as Director of Community Engagement at Adler University where he developed and maintained strategic partnerships with more than 200 community-based organizations in Chicago. Working in collaboration with faculty, he developed, implemented and evaluated a 23-week social justice curriculum and internship program for over 300 first-year students. This program was integral to the University receiving the 2015 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an institutional honor, for the investment in activities that strengthen bonds between campus and community.
Dr. James was also the Founding Director of Indiana University South Bend’s Civil Rights Heritage Center at the Natatorium; a co-curricular educational and cultural facility that uses civil rights history to promote diversity, inclusion, and improved race relations. He was responsible for creating the vision, launching the Center, training and developing staff, operations, and programming that engaged faculty, students and the community-at-large. He received three grants to establish an African American Landmark Tour of 18 sites with historical significance to South Bend’s black migration to the north and advancement toward equal rights. In 2011, the City of South Bend was recipient of the nationally recognized All-America City Award, due in large part to the Center’s work to improve racial and ethnic relations in the region.
Kevin is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, and is a Life Member of the Association of Black Sociologists. James currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Village Leadership Academy (an independent school in Chicago), and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. He is a 2015-2016 fellow in the Chicago Urban League and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business IMPACT Leadership Program, and a 2016-2017 Policy and Social Engagement Fellow of the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy.