Jennifer Padilla Wyse

Jennifer Padilla Wyse is an Assistant Professor and Co-Coordinator of African and African-American Studies at Widener University’s College of Arts & Sciences. Her affiliation includes the Sociology (BA) program. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Virginia Tech (2014) with concentrations in social inequality (race/gender/class) and Africana Studies, along with a Certificate in Race and Social Policy.

Her research focuses on social inequality, race/ethnicity, and the sociology of knowledge, examining how race, gender, and class structure knowledge production globally and in U.S. educational systems. She explores critical pedagogy and racialized knowledge reproduction in public high schools. Teaching emphasizes empowering students through sociological analysis and real-world engagement via field trips and dynamic classroom discussions.

Publications include analyses of racialized academic spaces (e.g., American Behavioral Scientist) and co-authored works on sociological epistemology. She participates in professional networks like the Southern Sociological Society and Society for the Study of Social Problems.

Notable engagements include a 2023 Mellon Foundation-funded Humanities Leadership Development Program and media contributions discussing historical segregation’s impacts on education. Her work bridges academia and public discourse, advocating for equity in knowledge systems.