Wornie Reed, Ph.D.

Professor Reed is currently Professor of Africana Studies and Sociology and Director of the Africana Studies Program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Previously he was Professor of Sociology and Urban Studies at Cleveland State University (1991-2004), and Adjunct Professor at the CWRU School of Medicine (2003-2004). From 1991 to 2001 he was also director of the Urban Child Research Center in the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. He received his B.S. degree in Secondary Education (Science and Mathematics) at Alabama State University and the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Sociology from Boston University.

Before going to Cleveland State University in August 1991, he was Chairperson of the Department of Black Studies and Director of the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture at the University of Massachusetts at Boston (1985-91). Prior to those positions he was Director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University (1983-85); and Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Associate in the Division of Health Care Research in the School of Medicine at Washington University (1975-83). Professor Reed served a three-year term (1990-92) as President of the National Congress of Black Faculty, and he is past president of the national Association of Black Sociologists (2000-2001).

Trained as a medical sociologist under a health services research training fellowship, Professor Reed has taught courses, conducted research, and published numerous articles on medical care, health and illness, urban communities, and criminal justice. In his career he has acquired over $6.3 million to fund his research. His background includes positions in the federal government and private industry as well as higher education. Before his academic career, Professor Reed worked in the computer field—with the U.S. Bureau of the Census as a computer programmer and with IBM as a systems engineer and as a marketing representative.

Among his scholarly accomplishments Professor Reed directed the project, "Assessment of the Status of African Americans," involving some 61 scholars. This project resulted in the production of a four-volume work published by Auburn House Publishers:  

• The Education of African-Americans (C. Willie, A. Garibaldi & W. Reed, eds.; 1991)
• Research on the African-American Family (R. Hill, et al.; 1993)
• Health and Medical Care of African-Americans (W. Reed, author; 1993)
• African-Americans: Essential Perspectives (W. Reed, ed.; 1993)

Professor Reed’s honors and awards include two Regional Emmys—received in 2000 and 2003—for his work with Public Health Television, Inc., on the Urban Cancer Project, which produced television shows on cancer prevention aimed at African Americans. The Urban Cancer Project is a research and video-based project aimed at reducing cancer disparities among African Americans. From January to September 2004 Professor Reed developed and hosted a cable television commentary and interview show, “African American Forum,” in Cleveland, Ohio.

Contact Information

Wornie Reed, Ph.D., Director
Professor of Africana Studies and Sociology

University of Tennessee
1206 McClung Tower & Plaza
Knoxville, TN 37996-0412

Office:  (865)974-5052
Fax:      (865)974-8669
E-mail:  wreed5@utk.edu