Meet Professor Stanley Thangaraj

As Stonehill's inaugural James E. Hayden Chair, Stanley Thangaraj oversees the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Social Justice. Since taking on this role in July 2022, he has had the honor of meeting Elizabeth (Fox) Hayden ’76 several times. The Stonehill trustee established the Hayden Chair in memory of her husband, James ’76, who died on United Airlines Flight 175 on September 11, 2001.

“Elizabeth’s family embodies the project of social justice,” says Thangaraj, who is also a professor of anthropology and sociology. “It is something they clearly want to nurture on our campus. I see the Hayden Chair as a venue to facilitate conversations and spaces dedicated to social justice, to create venues curricular and non-curricular that expand students’ intellectual, lived and philosophical experiences.”

Over the last year, Thangaraj has hosted many unique programs in fulfillment of these commitments, including panel discussions focused on environmental racism, health disparities in Black communities, histories of whiteness and the ESPN film 144.

He also organized an undergraduate conference that allowed students and faculty from various institutions to present papers on social, political and economic issues of today.

Amid Thangaraj's efforts to develop opportunities for interdisciplinary research and public dialogue at the College, he is also involved in other areas of campus life. Thangaraj enjoys visiting Stonehill's Farm with his children and their poodle, Mango, who usually plays with Millie, the canine companion of Farm Director Laurie Mooney.

Thangaraj notes that getting to know community members like Mooney has been a highlight of his Stonehill experience thus far.

“I’m someone who is always committed to building community,” he says. “This place has so many faculty and staff who also want to do that work. It’s nice to see so many people invested in this pursuit.”