Dr. Hayward Derrick Horton is a Professor of Sociology and the School of Public Health at the State University of New York at Albany. A native of Norfolk, VA, he holds a BA in Sociology from Norfolk State University, and an MA and Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University. He has also held professorships at the University of Central Arkansas and Iowa State University. 

Professor Horton specializes in demography, race/ethnicity, public sociology, and rural sociology. He has published over 30 articles on topics such as: the demography of rural black families; differences in black-white levels of homeownership; population change and the employment status of college-educated blacks; race, ethnicity and levels of employment; the demography of black entrepreneurship; and the feminization of poverty. Professor Horton developed the first and only sociological model of black community development, The Black Organizational Autonomy (BOA) Model.  He also introduced a new paradigm into the field of demography- -Critical Demography.  In fall of 1999, he edited a special issue of the journal Sociological Forum on this new paradigm.
               

A publication of Professor Horton’s appeared in the March 2000 Special Millennial Issue of the top journal of his field, the American Sociological Review.  In this groundbreaking article, “Lost in the Storm: The Sociology of the Black Working Class, 1850-1990,” he redefined the race-class debate and introduced a new measure of social class in America. Professor Horton is a co-editor of the book, Skin Deep: How Race and Complexion Matter in the “Color-Blind” Era (2004).

Professor Horton has held leadership positions in the American Sociological Association, the Southern Sociological Society, and the Rural Sociological Society.  He is a past President of the Association of Black Sociologists.  In fact he holds the distinction of being the first sociologist from SUNY-Albany to be elected President of a national organization.  He is a past Treasurer of the Society for Applied Sociology (SAS) and a past Chair of the Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities (SREM) for the American Sociological Association.  Professor Horton has won several awards for his leadership, teaching and service in sociology and the community.  He is a recipient of the 2001 Excellence in Teaching Award at SUNY-Albany as well as the 2001 SUNY Chancellor’s award for Teaching Excellence.  He also is a recipient of SUNY-Albany’s 2006 Excellence in Academic Service Award and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Academic Service in 2006.

Professor Horton has worked with many grassroots, community groups on the issues of drug addiction, alcohol abuse, homelessness and illiteracy.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York and is a founding member of the Albany affiliate of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.  He is also the founder and project director of Capitalize on Community, an HIV prevention and community outreach research project in the Albany capital district. Professor Horton’s personal philosophy is that sociologists have an obligation to apply their knowledge-- to make a difference in society.