Korie Little Edwards, PhD, professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, has earned The Ohio State University 2023 Distinguished Scholar Award. Senior leadership in the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge recently surprised Edwards with the honor.
Korie Little Edwards receives 2023 Distinguished Scholar Award
“I just do what I’m excited about and what I’m passionate about. It means a lot to be acknowledged and to be seen.”
Edwards is a leading scholar of race and religion in the United States. Drawing upon qualitative and quantitative methodologies, she addresses this topic looking at two contexts: racially diverse religious organizations and religious organizations that are predominately black. She has directed or co-directed several funded research projects totaling more than $1.8 million in grants, including the Religious Leadership and Diversity Project (RLDP) – the most in-depth, comprehensive study conducted on religious leaders of multiracial congregations.
“Through her work, Dr. Edwards has garnered the respect of her peers across the world,” said Peter Mohler, interim executive vice president for research, innovation and knowledge. “Importantly, her approach allows the science to be translated into solutions. This award is well deserved.”
“Korie, I don’t know how you do it all, this is a very well-deserved award” said Ryan King, divisional dean for social and behavioral sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. "And as a colleague, this is a very hard-earned award. And as a friend, I’m even more proud.”
In her nomination letter, department chair Kristi Williams wrote of Edwards, “Dr. Edwards’ career is an exemplar of community- and student-engaged scholarship. She integrates the highest quality agenda-setting research with graduate and undergraduate training and research translation, communicating her research findings beyond the academy to those who can directly benefit.”
In addition to her sociology role, Edwards also serves as the Interim Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has authored four books, with an additional book in production, on race and religion and serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. She earned her bachelor’s in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and her master’s and doctorate in sociology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The Distinguished Scholar Award is among the highest annual honors awarded at Ohio State. The university-level award honors six faculty members who demonstrate scholarly activity, conduct research or creative works that represent exceptional achievements in their fields and garner distinction for the university.
Award recipients are nominated by their departments and chosen by a committee of senior faculty, including past award recipients. Distinguished Scholars receive an honorarium and a research grant to be used over the next three years. Learn more about previous Distinguished Scholar Award recipients.
Quotes from Edward’s nomination:
“She is a very well-respected researcher and sociologist in this field, and her recent publications - building on large, well-funded, multi-year empirical research programs of her own design - contribute to sociology's understanding of the challenges and possibilities that influence the success of Black and multi-racial churches and church leadership in the twenty-first century,”
- Courtney Bender, Columbia University
“…Edwards is simply outstanding in every dimension of faculty work that is valued by the discipline and the academy more broadly. She also goes the extra mile (ten miles really!) to translate her research to the communities that will most use it and benefit from it. And she does all of this while shepherding the next generation of scholars,”
- Elaine Howard Ecklund, Rice University
“While the field in which Dr. Edwards works was all abuzz with the study of racial diversity in congregations, Dr. Edwards—again over several years of careful research, writing, speaking, podcasts, and other communication forms—has essentially single-handedly shifted the field, and the actual practices in many congregations, from diversity to racial justice and empowerment,”
- Michael O. Emerson, University of Illinois at Chicago