Darnell Hunt (born 1962) is an American sociologist and academic administrator. As of September 1, 2022, Darnell Hunt is UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost.
He has served as the dean of Social Sciences at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, where he is also a professor of Sociology and African American Studies, and the former director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. He is the author or editor of four books, and annual reports on the lack of diversity in the film industry.
Education
Darnell Hunt received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in journalism (public relations) from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
in 1984
and a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in 1988. He then earned a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
and a
PhD both in sociology from the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
in 1991 and 1994, respectively.
Career
Hunt began teaching at UCLA in 1991, initially as a graduate student; he later became a full professor of Sociology and African American Studies.
He was the chair of the Sociology department, and the director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies,
where he was succeeded by History professor
Kelly Lytle Hernandez
Kelly may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kelly (Kelly Price album)
* Kelly (Andrea Faustini album)
* Kelly (musical), ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap
* Kelly (song), "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland
* Kell ...
. Since July 2017, Hunt has served as the dean of Social Sciences.
Hunt is the author of two books, and the editor of two more books. He has also published an annual report on the lack of diversity in the film industry since 2014.
The 2017 report, which was commissioned by the
Color of Change
Color of Change is a progressive nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization in the United States. It was formed in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in order to use online resources to strengthen the political voice of African Amer ...
, a non-profit civil rights advocacy organization, showed that very few television writers were black.
To increase their share, Hunt suggested television producers use the
Rooney Rule
The Rooney Rule is a National Football League policy that requires league teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs. It is an example of affirmative action, even though before 2022 there wa ...
during their interviewing process.
His first book, ''Screening the Los Angeles "Riots:" Race, Seeing and Resistance'', looks at the way white, black and Hispanic television viewers understood the
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
. In a review for ''
Contemporary Sociology
''Contemporary Sociology'' is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed academic journal of sociology published by SAGE Publications in association with the American Sociological Association since 1972. Each issue of the journal publishes many in-depth as well as ...
'', professor
S. Craig Watkins of the University of Texas at Austin called it "a highly original, insightful, and essential piece of research."
However, in a review for the ''Revue française de sociologie'', Julien Damon regretted that Hunt did not look at the way Koreans were impacted by the riots; he added that other axes of subjectivity than race like "age, sex, profession and income levels" would have made the analysis more comprehensive.
His second book, ''O.J. Simpson Facts and Fictions: News Rituals in the Construction of Reality'', is about the
O. J. Simpson murder case
''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was ...
.
Hunt subsequently edited two books. His third book, ''Channeling Blackness: Studies on Television and Race in America'', was about the way blacks are portrayed on television. His fourth book, ''Black Los Angeles: American Dreams and Racial Realities'', co-edited with Ana-Christina Ramón, the Assistant Director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, is a collection of seventeen articles about
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
and
Leimert Park
Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California.
Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...
. ''
The Journal of American History
''The Journal of American History'' is the official academic journal of the Organization of American Historians. It covers the field of American history and was established in 1914 as the ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', the official jo ...
'' published a mixed review by
Lawrence B. de Graaf, a History professor at California State University, Fullerton. For de Graaf, "This book should be in any collection on recent African American life and on Los Angeles, but next to more comprehensive historical works." In particular, he criticized the lack of attention paid to blacks who live just outside Los Angeles, or to the black middle class.
Reviewing it for ''
The Journal of African American History
''The Journal of African American History'', formerly ''The Journal of Negro History'' (1916–2001), is a quarterly academic journal covering African-American life and history. It was founded in 1916 by Carter G. Woodson. The journal is owned and ...
'', John H. Barnhill praised the book, writing "Scholarly excellence characterizes many of the articles." He concluded, "the volume provides a great deal of direction for those seeking to understand the background to and current state of the African American urban experience in the 21st century."
Works
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Darnell
Living people
University of Southern California alumni
McDonough School of Business alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
American university and college faculty deans
American sociologists
African-American social scientists
1962 births
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people