Josef Sorett

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Josef Sorett is an American scholar of religion and race in the Americas. He has served as the dean of Columbia College of Columbia University since July 2022. [1]

Contents

Education

Josef Sorett received a Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science from Oral Roberts University in 1996. [2] While at Oral Roberts, he played on the men's basketball team his junior and senior year, under coach Bill Self. [3]

Sorett has a MDiv in Religion and Literature from Boston University in 2000, and received his PhD in African American Studies from Harvard University in 2008. [4] [2]

His doctoral dissertation is titled Spirit Soundings: Religion, Race and the Arts in Twentieth Century America. [5] [6]

Career

Columbia University

Sorett began teaching at Columbia University in 2009, and later became professor of religion and African American and African diaspora studies, chair of the department of religion, and director of the Center on African-American Religion, Sexual Politics and Social Justice. His research focuses on how religion has shaped cultures of Black communities and movements in the United States, from a perspective that straddles history, literature, religion, art and music. [4]

In April 2016, he participated in a conference on the TV show The Wire. [7] [8]

Dean of Columbia College

Since July 2022, Sorett has been the dean of Columbia College and vice president of undergraduate education. [4]

Also in that year, Sorett began serving as Chair of Columbia University's Inclusive Public Safety Advisory Committee to "foster an inclusive campus community" with dialogue about campus racism and was awarded Columbia's Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. [9] [10] [11]

During Columbia's annual alumni reunion on May 31, 2024, Sorett texted with three other Columbia deans about an antisemitism panel on campus, responding "yup" to comments that the other deans had made and at one point texting "LMAO". [12] [13] [14] Sorett apologized on June 9. [15] On July 2, a petition signed by more than 2,000 students, alumni, and parents was sent that called on the college to also remove Sorett for his role in the incident. [16] The three other deans were suspended from their positions and eventually resigned from Columbia on August 8. [16]

Books

References

  1. ↑ "Josef Sorett | Department of Religion". religion.columbia.edu. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Administration". Columbia College. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  3. ↑ Dignan, Emma. "From the court to College Walk: Dean Josef Sorett's journey from college basketball to Morningside Heights". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Bollinger, Lee C (May 24, 2022). "Dr. Josef Sorett (STH '00) Appointed Dean of Columbia College". Boston University School of Theology . Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  5. ↑ "News". Louisville Institute. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  6. ↑ Sorett, Josef (2008). "Spirit soundings: religion, race and the arts in twentieth century America". hollis.harvard.edu. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  7. ↑ Calendar, The Events. "The Wire Conference". The Center for Justice at Columbia University. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  8. ↑ "The Wire—The Conference | Event". SOF/Heyman. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Meet Columbia's Five New Deans". Columbia Magazine. Fall 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  10. ↑ Andres, Dylan (February 22, 2022). "Inclusive Public Safety Advisory Committee starts to make headway amid administrative turnover". Columbia Daily Spectator . Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  11. ↑ "The Inclusive Public Safety Advisory Committee". Columbia University . Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  12. ↑ Tress, Luke (August 9, 2024). "3 Columbia deans quit after exchanging texts deriding campus antisemitism concerns". The Times of Israel . Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  13. ↑ Arnold, Sarah (June 22, 2024). "Three Columbia University Deans Placed On Leave Over Disparaging Antisemitism Texts". Townhall . Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  14. ↑ Clark, Jeffrey (June 21, 2024). "Three Columbia University deans placed on administrative leave over disparaging texts". Fox News . Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  15. ↑ Sorett, Josef (July 8, 2024). "A Message from the Dean". Columbia College . Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Otterman, Sharon (August 8, 2024). "3 Columbia University Deans Who Sent Insulting Texts Have Resigned". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  17. ↑ Winters, Joseph (December 9, 2018). "Spirit in the Dark: A Religious History of Racial Aesthetics by Josef Sorett (review)" . African American Review. 51 (2): 155–158. doi:10.1353/afa.2018.0027 . Retrieved December 9, 2023– via Project MUSE.
  18. ↑ Thyssen, Ashwin Afrikanus (August 1, 2023). "The sexual politics of black churches: edited by Josef Sorrett, New York, Columbia University Press, 2022, 280 pp., $ 35 (paperback), ISBN: 9780231188333" . Politics, Religion & Ideology. 24 (4): 614–616. doi:10.1080/21567689.2023.2242682 . Retrieved December 9, 2023– via CrossRef.


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