Prentiss Dantzler

Dr. Prentiss Dantzler is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of the Housing Justice Lab within the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. He joined the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor of Sociology in 2021. Previously, he held faculty appointments at Georgia State University (Urban Studies) and Colorado College (Sociology). He also served as a Canada-U.S. Fulbright Scholar at UT and as a Scholar-In-Residence at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Ph.D. in Public Affairs with a concentration in Community Development from Rutgers University-Camden. He also holds an M.P.A. (Urban and Regional Planning) from West Chester University and a B.S. (Energy, Business and Finance) from Penn State University.

As an urbanist, Dr. Prentiss Dantzler tends to focus on the forces surrounding neighborhood change including location affordability, neighborhood satisfaction, and community resistance. He is keenly interested in how and why neighborhoods change and how communities and public policymakers create or react to those changes. 

As a professor, he looks holistically at how students learn and grow. As a first-generation college student, he brings a unique, eclectic approach to teaching and pedagogy. Having numerous experiences within higher education administration, specifically within student and academic affairs, Dr. Prentiss Dantzler employs a variety of techniques in the classroom that allow him to connect with students across all demographics.

With an emphasis on community development, Dr. Prentiss Dantzler's research, teaching, and service are centered on issues of equity and inclusivity. His overall goal is to change how people see themselves, to question their own positionality, and to work collaboratively with others to create a more inclusive, democratic society.