Rodney D. Coates is a public sociologist engaged in critical race, social justice, social movements, social policy, and practice. For Coates, being a public sociologist means that the work he does must have an impact in the wider communities — both within and external to the university.

He has conducted bias training for school districts and municipalities, police, and universities. He works with local communities, corporations, and Miami University to establish pathways to progress for under-represented students in such fields as STEM, business, and law.

At Miami University he was the driving force for the creation of the Miami-Cincinnati Scholars program which provides full scholarships for underrepresented students going into STEM.

As a public intellectual he is frequently featured in both national and local press to include NBC and NPR. He is a published poet, essayist, and editorialist. His sunset photos have been featured as the covers of several books, multiple exhibits. These photos have also been the basis for the HOPE endowed scholarship at Miami University for underrepresented students.

He has developed and taught a wide assortment of courses such as Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Introduction to Social Justice, Critical Race and Post-Colonial Structures, Civil Rights and Social Movements, and Human Rights and Social Movements. His course on globalization, social justice, and human rights, which links universities from around the globe (to include the United Kingdom, Moscow, Milano, Italy, Spain, British Columbia) has received several awards and been featured in published articles.

Coates developed a summer bridge program for scholar-athletes in their freshman year. This course, treating the athletes as if they were honors students, sets the expectations and curriculum to challenge them to perform way above what they believe they could ever accomplish. Increasing gpa and graduation rates have increased each year the program has been offered.

His books have won awards and charted new territory. Currently he, and co-authors, are revising their SAGE-published The Matrix of Race: Social Construction, Intersectionality, and Inequality having sold over 2,000 copies in its first 2 years since publication. It is currently being revised for the 2nd edition slated for publication in January of 2021. Coates has a record of scholarship which spans 3 decades and includes numerous published peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters, and collections. Finally, July of 2020 SAGE Publishing presented: A 12 Step Program for Decolonizing the University: A conversation with Dr. Rodney Coates.

Coates is a recipient of the 2021 College of Arts and Science's Distinguished Educator Award. His award presentation, "Critical Race Theory and the Search for Truth," is available for viewing.