Reuben A. Buford May

Reuben A. Buford May is Professor of Sociology and Department Head at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. He is also a Florian Znaniecki Professorial Scholar and an affiliate of the Center for Social and Behavioral Science. His academic leadership and teaching excellence have been recognized nationally and institutionally.

His research spans urban sociology, racial and ethnic dynamics, and the sociology of sport. Key themes include racial exclusion in public nightlife, mentorship in STEM, and youth development through sports. He employs ethnographic and qualitative methods, often linking his work to legal and policy implications.

His recent publications (2021–2025) focus on adolescent sports and health, mentor-protégé relationships, and ongoing studies of urban nightlife exclusion. These works reflect interdisciplinary engagement with public health, education, and critical race theory. His scholarship combines empirical rigor with attention to social justice.

• Fellow, President’s Executive Leadership Program (2024)
• Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award (2018)
• Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence, Texas A&M (2017)
• NAACP 'Best Professor Award' (2017)
• Glasscock University Professorship (2015)
• Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award (2013)
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor, MIT (2010)
• Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation Fellowship, Harvard (2009)

May has served as Co-PI on a $4M NSF grant (Louis Stokes STEM Pathways) and PI on a study of dress codes and discrimination in urban nightlife. He has advised numerous students and integrates creative pedagogy, including using rap (under the name Reginald S. Stuckey) to engage students on complex sociological topics.

He is affiliated with the Department of Sociology and the Center for Social and Behavioral Science, contributing to interdisciplinary research clusters and academic leadership at the university level.