Projects
Dr. Craig Soaries has been deeply involved in a variety of impactful academic and service-oriented projects across institutions. At Gordon State College, his contributions span several key initiatives, including serving as a Student Success Fellow, participating on the Strategic Planning Committee, and contributing to the Website Design Committee. He led the Affordable Learning Text Transformation Grant, demonstrating his commitment to accessible education. Additionally, he served as the Campus Organist, contributed to leadership development through the Highlander Leadership Academy, and was recognized as an Innovative & Nontraditional Education Fellow.
Dr. Soaries served as an ethnographer at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health and Community Medicine, where he worked on a NICHD-funded project titled “Pentecostalism & Utilization of HIV/AIDS Treatment Services in Central Mozambique” (Grant #1 R21 HD055841-01). This study focused on the intersection of religion and public health, using qualitative and ethnographic methods to explore how Pentecostal churches influenced the use of HIV/AIDS treatment services. His fieldwork included regular travel to Mozambique, where he conducted interviews and engaged with community leaders to understand the role of organizational social capital in shaping healthcare decisions.
Publications & Conferences
2024 BlackTechFutures Research Institute’s HBCUs Public Interest Technology Summer Seminar Participant -- Virtual
2023 UNCF/MELLON Program Conference – Atlanta, GA
2023 Higher Education and Graduate School Forum – Mombasa, Kenya-Presenter
2018 Soaries, Craig, “Creating Engagement in the Culturally Responsive Classroom”, Griffin RESA, Griffin, Georgia
2016 Soaries, Craig, “Local Faith Based Economic Empowerment,” Indigenous Leadership Conference Famille Elohims,Yaoundé, Cameroon
2016 Soaries, Craig, “The Power of Structured Community based Leadership,” Health and Community Outreach sponsored by Arms of Care Riverdale, GA, in Ubulu Nigeria
2015 Street Children Initiative and Village Outreach – Addis Abba, Ethiopia
2015 Soaries, Craig, “Transformative Leadership and Adult Educational Development” Christ Outreach Ministries, Mombasa, Kenya
2015 Leadership and Educational Facilitation Workshops
Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa
2014 Soaries, Craig “Leadership Development”, Global Peace Conference,
Sialkot, Pakistan
2013 Soaries, Craig, “Career Management for Professional Doctorates”, Panel Participant for Engaged Scholarship Conference, Third International Conference on Engaged Scholarship, GA State University, Atlanta, GA
2013 Soaries, Craig, Annual Youth Community Empowerment Outreach -- Johannesburg, South Africa sponsored by the Orange Farm Community
2012 Soaries, Craig (Keynote Speaker), Virtual Conference Hosting with Community Leaders in Sialkot, Pakistan
2011 Hosted Global Empowerment Convocation – Atlanta, Georgia
2009 Soaries, Craig, “Structuring Successful Leadership,” Promise Faith Cathedral, Accra, Ghana
2007 Soaries, Craig, “A Community and Faith-Based Approach to Community Economic Development and Leadership” Annual Conference -- Kampala, Uganda
2005 Soaries, Craig, A Nonprofit Venture for Marginalized Inner City Men --A Journey of Business Acculturation.” Presented at ARNOVA (Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action), Washington, DC
2005 Soaries, Craig, (Keynote Speaker) Youth Academic Advances (College Initiatives) held at Christ the King Community Church, Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines
2004 Soaries, Craig, (Keynote Speaker) “Understanding the Role of the Black Church in Historical and Contemporary Perspective: Community Development and the Local Pastor.” Presented at the University of West Georgia
2004 Soaries, Craig, “The Role of the Change Agent and Change Management Education.” Presented at the Jurisdictional Leadership Conclave COGIC, Montclair, NJ
2003 Soaries, Craig, "Work or Survival -- A Textual Analysis of Slave Narrative and Contemporary Day Labor Pool Workers.” Presented at the Academy of Management, Seattle, WA.
2002 Soaries, Craig, "Work or Survival -- A Textual Analysis of Slave Narrative and Contemporary Day Labor Pool Workers.” Presented at ARNOVA, Montreal, Canada
WORKING PAPERS
Articles (for submission to scholarly journals)
“The Deconstruction of Social Perceptions of African American Men: A Mandatory Duality” -- Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.
“The Role of Cognitive Reactive Adaptiveness in Successful Bicultural Black Men” -International Journal of Intercultural Relations.
“The Foul or Wassup on the Court? An Ethnographic Study in African-American Male Social interaction on the Outdoor Basketball Court.” Journal of Sport and Social Issues.
"Work or Survival -- A Textual Analysis of Slave Narrative and Contemporary Day Labor Pool Workers.” -- Discourse Studies.
“The Transformation of Street Skills to the Mainstream Business Environment” -- Engaged Management ReView (EMR).
“The Social Dynamics of Cross Cultural Exchange Between a Majority and Minority University” -- Sociology of Race and Ethnicity.
“The Aristotelian Ideal of Democracy and the Influence of the Orator”, The Oral History Review.
Soaries, Craig, Beyond the Court (book- forthcoming Fall 2025)