Faculty Profile

Dr. Cynthia Neal Spence is an associate professor of sociology at Spelman College. Her teaching and research interests in the areas of sociology, criminology, law and violence against women support the Law and Criminology concentration in the College’s Department of Sociology. 

Dr. Spence’s interest in issues of higher education access, gender role socialization and violence against women frame her research, writing, community service involvement and public speaking. She has served as a consultant for the Ford Foundation Institutional Transformation Project, the University of Chicago Provost Initiative on Minority Affairs, the Agnes Scott College Center for Teaching and Learning and the Georgia Department of Corrections. 

In addition to her faculty position at Spelman, Dr. Spence serves as director of the UNCF Mellon Programs. The Mellon Programs provide fellowships for students interested in becoming college professors in the areas of the humanities, physics, mathematics, sociology, anthropology and other disciplines employing philosophical or historical analysis.

Dr. Spence is the recipient of the Spelman College Alumnae Achievement Tiffany Award and the Fannie Lou Hammer Community Service Award. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Washington Internship Institute.