January 1, 2022

Joya Misra has been elected the 115th President of the American Sociological Association. Misra, along with Vice President-Elect Jennifer A. Reich of the University of Colorado Denver, will serve as President-Elect for one year, followd by a one-year term as President and a one-year term as Immediate Past President.

“I'm so grateful to be elected,” Misra said. “I'm a second-generation immigrant woman who grew up in the South. I have actively made choices throughout my career to do the work that matters most to me. I am truly moved that other sociologists see my work, my praxis, as valuable, and hopeful about what this means about where the discipline is moving.” 

Regarding her plans as ASA president, Misra said, “the beauty of sociology is in its variety. I hope to do more to honor that variety—by serving as President to all of the sociologists teaching in high schools, community colleges, colleges, and universities; all of the applied and public sociologists using sociology to better the world; as well as all of the sociologists doing research across the globe, recognizing that any one sociologist may represent many different aspects of the field. We make better sociology when we feel our work has meaning; I want to highlight those meanings, helping to move ASA beyond primarily a professional organization to a place that people see as supporting their calling.” 

Misra has held several positions at ASA, including Vice President; Council member; chair of Distinguished Book Committee; and as chair of Sex and Gender, and Race, Gender & Class sections. She was Editor of Gender & Society.

Joya is the third UMass Sociology faculty member to serve as ASA President. She is preceded by Alice Rossi, who served in 1983, and Peter Rossi, who served in 1980.