Joel Hopkins, owner and CEO of Dominion Healthcare Services and NCCU sociology alumnus, opened a campus symposium March 6 on W.E.B. Du Bois’ his contributions to the development of American sociology.

The event was sponsored by the sociology department, which received a $250,000 endowment from Hopkins in the fall.

“The purpose of the symposium was to showcase the quality of work that the graduate students are performing,” said sociology instructor Sandra Rogers.

Sociology graduates Stacey Weger, Shannon O’Connor, Tasha Melvin, Mindy Saari, Florence Batine and Lamont Lilly presented papers at the symposium.

Robert Wortham, sociology professor and coordinator of graduate studies, said the symposium resulted from a graduate seminar he taught last year which focused on the important contributions Du Bois made to sociology.

Wortham said he was happy he could showcase for Hopkins the work of the department.

“Mr. Hopkins gave a very generous gift for which the sociology department is very appreciative,” he said.

In Wortham’s course, students read works from Du Bois such as the ‘Philadelphia Negro’ and the ‘Atlanta Conference Study’ on sociology, both of which Wortham described as advanced sociological reports.

Du Bois used census data, surveys, and ethnographic descriptions in his work, making it more sophisticated.

Wortham said Du Bois‘ sociological advances are still obscure.

“Du Bois was at best a side note in the development of sociology,” Wortham said.

Wortham created this graduate seminar in response to Du Bois’ sidenote status. He wanted this body of information available to the mainstream.

As a part of the seminar, students had to write a paper; Wortham challenged his students to write papers that were publishable.

Wortham then submitted the five strongest papers to the largest regional sociology conference, the Southern Sociological Society.

All five papers were selected to be presented next month at the annual conference in Richmond, Va.

Now Wortham and the sociology department are proposing a survey research center.

“We’re trying to capture the research spirit that Du Bois envisioned, which is to present data and facts that will provide basis for social change,” Wortham said.