Korie Little CV

Korie Little is University Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Sociology at The Ohio State University. Across her career, she has been driven by a central question: How do organizational cultures, institutional structures, and broader social systems shape leaders' and organizations' capacity to advance their missions, enact their values, and foster flourishing communities? Author of five books and numerous articles and chapters, she is widely recognized for her research on how leaders, organizations, and institutions navigate power, diversity, and social change.

Her widely cited work has advanced understanding of leadership, organizations, diversity, and social inequality, particularly through the study of race, religion, and organizational life. Among her books are the award-winning Smart Suits, Tattered Boots: Black Ministers Mobilizing the Black Church in the Twenty-First Century, recipient of the American Sociological Association Distinguished Book Award, and Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith, and Leadership in a Diverse World, recognized by Christianity Today as one of the books most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture. Together with her earlier book, The Elusive Dream: The Power of Race in Interracial Churches, these works have helped shape scholarly and public conversations about race, religion, leadership, and organizational change.

Building on this foundation, her current research extends these questions across organizational sectors. One of her current projects, The Architecture of Leadership, examines how networks, organizational cultures, systems of accountability, and professional ecosystems shape leadership opportunities and organizational capacity across institutional settings.

Little is a widely sought-after national and international speaker and leadership educator whose expertise spans leadership, organizations, diversity, religion, and organizational values. Through keynote speaking, workshops, teaching, mentoring, and leadership development, she helps leaders and organizations translate research into practical strategies for strengthening leadership, organizational culture, and institutional effectiveness. An active leader in the academy, she serves as President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion (2026-2027) and previously served as President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. At Ohio State, she has held several academic leadership roles, including Interim Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and Faculty Fellow in the Office of Faculty Affairs, and she is a graduate of the Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program.