Kenneth B. Bedell, Ph.D.

I have supported social justice since my college days in the 1960s at Cornell University. I protested the Vietnam War and supported Black students who wanted Cornell to provide them with a relevant curriculum. But only after writing Realizing the Civil Rights Dream: Diagnosing and Treating American Racism (Praeger, 2017) did I realize that it is not enough to diagnose and treat racism. White people and people of color need to work together to end racism.

I have a Ph.D. in sociology from Temple University. Before that, I earned graduate degrees in education at New York University, and theology at the University of South Africa and Colgate Rochester/Crozer Divinity School. My BA was from Cornell University in chemistry.

I was elected to the board of directors of the Religious Research Association, the Reconciling Ministries Network, the Forum Foundation (Seattle), and Rust College. I have also held leadership positions at the National Council of Churches in the U.S.A and the Methodist Federation for Social Action.

My work experience includes teaching chemistry in Eswatini (Swaziland, Africa). I am ordained in the United Methodist Church, serving local congregations in New York, Maryland, and Ohio. I taught sociology and communications at United Theological Seminary (Dayton). And I was the Associate General Secretary of the Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.

Most recently, I served in the Obama administration as a Senior Advisor in the Department of Education. There I worked in the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and directed the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge.

I have published numerous research papers, articles, book chapters, and blogs. I have also written six books on various subjects, including the history of worship, computers in churches and education, and race relations.