Philosopher Pugilist
Renegade Sociologist, Wrestler, Storyteller
Reece Torres
A native son of Harlem, NY, I started my academic trajectory in the NYC public school system where Dean of Student Ana De Los Santos-Tornatore nominated me to be an Oliver Scholar. Oliver transformed my life and helped me land at Westtown School.
After Westtown I went on to earn a BA from Dickinson College under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Johnson, Dr. Patricia Moonsammy, and Dr. Amy Steinbugler. Upon graduation I pursued my PhD in sociology at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
My dissertation, Leaning In: Diversity Work and Campus Culture at a Quaker Boarding School, is an ethnography that interrogates the value of diversity and the intricacies of the labor that subtends it. My dissertation committee is chaired by Dr. Prema Kurien (Syracuse, Sociology) and includes Dr. Edwin Akerman (Syracuse, Sociology), Dr. Barbara Applebaum (Syracuse, Cultural Foundations of Education), Dr. Dawn Dow (Maryland, Sociology), and Dr. Sean Drake (Syracuse, Sociology).
When not teaching or writing you can find me in the wrestling room!
Current Appointments
2023-2025
SUNY PRODiG Fellow
SUNY Geneseo
Sociology Department
2012-2023
Doctoral Candidate
Syracuse University, Sociology
Dissertation: Leaning In: Diversity Work and Campus Culture at a Quaker Boarding School
My foci include: race and ethnicity, stratification, education, law, and theory.
2022-2023
11th Grade Class Dean
Westtown School
I oversaw student support and discipline for the entire Junior Class at Westtown School, a Quaker Independent School in West Chester, PA.
2018-2023
Asst. Varsity Wrestling Coach
Westtown School
Heavyweights specialist
Friends School League Champions (2018, 2019, 2023)
Over 20 FSL All-League or Honorable Mention
Over 10 National Prep Qualifiers
Degrees Earned
2023
Doctor of Philosophy, Sociology
Syracuse University
Dissertation: Leaning In: Diversity Work and Campus Culture at a Quaker Boarding School
Committee: Edwin Akerman, Barbara Applebaum, Dawn Dow, Prema Kurien (Chair), and Sean Drake
2014
Master of Arts, Sociology
Syracuse University
Comprehensive Exam Committee: Barbara Applebaum (Substance), Dawn Dow (Theory), Jackie Orr (Methods)
2012
Bachelor of Art, Africana Studies & Sociology
Dickinson College
Cum Laude
