Professor Mary Pattillo one of Better magazine’s Top 10 Black Women of Impact in Chicago

Mary Pattillo, Harold Washington Professor of Sociology and chair of the Department of African American Studies, has been listed as one of Better magazine’s 2023 Top 10 of Chicago’s Black Women of Impact.

The list celebrates women who “have risen to the pinnacles of success, despite the unique challenges that Black women experience in society.” Using their own research combined with recommendations from readers and past honorees, Better magazine spotlights those who have flourished not only in their profession, but in becoming role models for others.

Pattillo is acknowledged for her 24 years teaching in the department of sociology, as well as at the Stateville Correctional Center through the Northwestern Prison Education Program.

“My students at Stateville ask me why I am teaching them. I have many answers: I want to teach all kinds of students; they’re great students; and it’s an interesting place to teach. But the mantra to whom much is given much is required is something that inspires me to want to better the world and to be a better person.”

Pattillo is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Political & Social Science. She sits on the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and was a founding board member of Urban Prep Charter Academies in Chicago.

Read Pattillo’s profile and meet nine other Black women doing incredible work in healthcare, education, media, business, and the nonprofit world.