Dr. Joseph N. Cooper

Dr. Cooper began his current role as the J. Keith Motley Endowed Chair of Sport Leadership and Administration at UMass-Boston in 2019, when he helped launch the program of the same name. He spent six years as professor in the Sport Management program at the University of Connecticut prior to his current post, and he holds his PhD from the University of Georgia. Dr. Cooper’s research agenda focuses on the convergence of sport, education, race, and culture with an emphasis on sport as a catalyst for holistic development and positive changes in society. Dr. Cooper also serves as the Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Black Life at University of Massachusetts Boston and is the founder of Collective Uplift (CU). The mission of Collective Uplift is to educate, empower, and inspire students across racial and ethnic backgrounds to maximize their full potential as holistic individuals both within and beyond athletic contexts.