Charles V. Willie, a sociologist, is a professor of education and urban studies at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. He is the author of 23 books and over 100 articles, and his research interests cover such topics as race relations, urban education, public health, community development, and family life. His books include A New Look at Black Families (1976), The Education of African-Americans (1991), Theories of Human Social Action (1994), and Mental Health, Racism and Sexism (1995). Dedicated to solving social problems, Willie has been a court-appointed master and an expert witness or consultant in several school desegregation cases, and in 1974 in Philadelphia, he particiapted as a lay-preacher in the ordination for the first eleven women priests in the Episcopal Church of the United States, an act which led Ms. magazine to name him a male hero for his courageous action on behalf of women.
Willie has served as vice president of the American Sociological Association and as president of the Eastern Sociological Society. In addition, he has served on the board of directors of the Social Science Research Council, the technical advisory board of the Maurice Falk Medical Fund, and, by appointment of President Carter, the President's Commission on Mental Health.
Willie earned his bachelor's degree from Morehouse College in 1948, his master's from Atlanta University in 1949 and his doctorate from Syracuse University in 1957, all in sociology. Willie taught at Syracuse University from 1950 to 1974, after which he became a professor of education and urban studies at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.