Dr. Cornel West, also warmly regarded as Brother West, is the current holder of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary. In his capacity as professor, Dr. West offers instruction on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Philosophy of Religion, African American Critical Thought, and a wide range of subjects encompassing philosophy, politics, literature, cultural theory, music, and the classics. He is dedicated to engaging diverse audiences and advancing the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with a focus on truth-telling and the pursuit of love and justice.

Dr. West previously served as Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in three years, and subsequently received both his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Princeton. Cornel West was the first Black man to receive a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 1980!

Dr. West has written 20 books and edited 13 additional volumes. He has also contributed forwards and blurbs for hundreds of authors. His most celebrated publications include Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and his memoir Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. His book - Black Prophetic Fire - explores the legacy of prominent African American figures from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Most recently, he co-authored Truth Matters with Dr. Robert George, fostering thoughtful discourse on contemporary social issues in the United States.

Through a partnership with MasterClass.com, Dr. West teaches several courses, including a class on Empathy, MasterClass’s first multi-instructor course on Black History, Black Freedom & Black Love, and a course on Philosophy. For further information, visit www.cornelwest.com and select the MasterClass link.

In 2024, Dr. West was an Independent Presidential Candidate, and in the same year he delivered the Gifford Lecture 2023/2024, titled "A Jazz-soaked Philosophy for Our Catastrophic Times: From Socrates to Coltrane," at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. https://cahss.ed.ac.uk/news-events/lectures/gifford-lectures/2023-2024-dr-cornel-west-gifford-lecture-series

Dr. West is married to Dr. Annahita Mahdavi west, a poet, Clinician, and professor at Long Bach City College in California.