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Dr. Matthew C. Whitaker
- Associate Professor of United States History
- Affiliate Faculty, African and American Studies
- Affiliate Faculty, The School Justice and Social Inquiry
- Arizona State University
- Curriculum Vitae
Professor Whitaker earned his B.A. in Sociology, B.A. in History, and M.A. in United States History, from Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe. Dr. Whitaker earned his Ph.D. in History, with honors, from Michigan State University (MSU) in Lansing. After earning his doctorate, Professor Whitaker worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Comparative Black History Program at MSU; a trail blazing program founded and directed by the eminent historian and public intellectual, Dr. Darlene Clark Hine, John A. Hannah Professor of History at Michigan State University, and Board of Trustees Professor of African American Studies and History at Northwestern University. Professor Whitaker came to ASU in 2001, after completing his post-doctoral research on the Civil Rights Movement in the American West at MSU.
Dr. Whitaker specializes in modern U.S. history, the African diaspora, civil and human rights, social movements, sports history, popular culture, the American west, and the struggle for racial, economic, and gender equality in the U.S. and beyond. His articles have appeared in many scholarly journals and encyclopedias, and his latest book is entitled Hurricane Katrina: America’s Unnatural Disaster(University of Nebraska Press, 2009). His other books include African American Icons of Sport: Triumph, Courage, and Excellence (Greenwood, 2008), and Race Work: The Rise of Civil Rights in the Urban West (University of Nebraska Press, 2005). Dr. Whitaker’s commentaries on topics such as the intersection of race, class, and gender, presidential politics, the Roman Catholic Church, reparations, Black conservatism, civil and human rights, and U.S./African relations, have appeared on NPR, PBS, various newspapers, and other media outlets. He also serves on numerous boards, including the distinguished International Advisory Board of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, California Legal History, and the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Phoenix.
He has worked with and lectured at a number of universities, municipalities and private institutions, and is the Vice President of the non-profit, 501C3 African Policy Institute. He is also Co-Owner and CEO of the Whitaker Group, L.L.C., a Consulting firm that specializes in human relations, cultural competency, and diversity. Professor Whitaker has been lauded for his teaching, research and service. He was awarded the ASASU 2004-05 Centennial Professor Award and the ASU 2005 Patricia Gurin Scholar-Activist Award. He has been nominated for the ASU Professor of the Year, and CLAS Distinguished Teaching Awards, and he was given the 2004 Education Leadership Award by 100 Black Men of Arizona, Inc., the 2000 Sara Jackson Award and 2003 Bert M. Fireman Prize by the Western History Association, the 2005 Dan Shilling Public Scholar Award by the Arizona Humanities Council, and the 2005 Journal of the West award for Best Article of the Year. He was one of four ASU 2006 Distinguished Last Lecture Award Winners, the 2006 Maricopa County, Arizona NAACP Educational Leadership Award winner, one of five City of Phoenix 2006 Martin Luther King, Jr. Living the Dream Award winners, the 2006 Ronald McDonald House Charities (Arizona Chapter) Excellence in Education Award winner, and one of Arizona State University’s 2006 Promotion and Tenure Exemplar Award winners. In 2007 he was given ASU’s Parent’s Association Professor of the Year Special Recognition Award, and in 2008, he, along with several partners, was given the Excellence in Diversity Award by the National League of Cities, for their Healing Racism Community Dialogue Series in Phoenix, Arizona. Most recently, he was given the Mark of Excellence Award by the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, Central Arizona Chapter.
Whitaker receives City of Glendale 2009 Martin Luther King, Jr. “Promoting Inclusive Award”
Read about Professor Whitaker’s latest recognition that was featured on the Arizona State University website during the Spring 2009.