Wake Forest sociologist elected president of academic society

Earl Smith, Rubin Professor of American Ethnic Studies and chairman of the sociology department at Wake Forest University, has been elected the 21st president of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport.

Smith was elected at the society’s annual meeting in November.

Founded in 1978, the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport is an academic society organized for educational purposes to promote the sociological study of play, games and sport.

Smith is the author of several books and many articles in academic journals and popular periodicals, including the recent article in the Marquette Sports Law Journal titled, “Race Matters in the National Basketball Association.”

He has also published numerous articles in academic journals on race and politics, African-American women in education, race and health issues, minorities in sports and religious participation among African-Americans. He is currently completing a book titled, “The Sporting World of African American Athletes: From Jackie Roosevelt Robinson to Eldrick ‘Tiger’ Woods.”

A native of New York, Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a master’s degree in sociology and doctorate in social-cultural anthropology from the University of Connecticut. He was the dean of social sciences at Pacific Lutheran University before coming to Wake Forest in 1996.