Sandra Lynn Barnes

Barnes is an urban sociologist with a focus on sociology of religion, inequality, social justice, and youth education. She served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Vanderbilt University from 2016 to 2018. She was honored as a Vanderbilt Pioneer in 2017.

From 2010 to 2012, Barnes served as the president of the Association of Black Sociologists, a national organization of social scientists, community activists, and students. Barnes received the Cox-Johnson-Frazier Award from the American Sociological Association in 2019 which is awarded for scholarly contributions to the field of social justice, particularly disadvantaged populations.

Prior to joining Vanderbilt University, Barnes was an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Case Western Reserve University from 2007 to 2008. She served as assistant professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology and the African American Studies Research Center at Purdue University from 2000 to 2007.

Barnes earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics in 1986 from Fisk University where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She earned a master's degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and the Interdenominational Theological Center, and a Ph.D. in sociology from Georgia State University in December 1999.

Sandra Lynn Barnes (born June 23, 1964) is an American educator, author, ordained Baptist minister, and documentary filmmaker. She is a joint-appointed Professor of Sociology in the Department of Human and Organizational Development in Peabody College of Education and Human Development and the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University.