Kenneth L. Shropshire

Professor Shropshire is the Senior Advisor to Wharton School Dean Erika James. He is focused on launching and leading the Wharton Coalition on Equity and Opportunity (Wharton CEO). He returns to the University of Pennsylvania as the David W. Hauck Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School and Emeritus Professor of Africana Studies, after five years following launching and leading, as CEO, the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University where he was also the Adidas Distinguished Professor of Global Sport. In his previous thirty-year career at Wharton he founded and directed the Wharton Sports Business Initiative and led the sports focused executive education programs.

Wharton CEO is being positioned as the source for evidence-based solutions to problems of inequity and access, CEO will be a collaboration with industry dedicated to dismantling specific challenges hindering individual and community progress. Through cross-disciplinary research and academic content, CEO will evaluate barriers to access in fields like healthcare, finance, education, sports and entertainment, while also exploring the systemic obstacles to capital and disparities in pay and opportunities for under-represented groups across many industries. By leveraging Wharton’s research insights and corporate relationships, CEO will help organizations answer the questions currently hindering them from effectively tackling issues of corporate diversity, community engagement and societal advancement. The Coalition will be integral in advancing insights and innovation showcasing Wharton’s broad capabilities across such subjects.

He graduated from Stanford in 1977 with a degree in economics and, after completing his third year at Stanford Law School, graduated from Columbia Law School in 1980. Before beginning his career in the academy he practiced law in Los Angeles and was an executive with the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.

Professor Shropshire has worked with numerous sports entities, from professional leagues to professional athletes. He currently shares his sports business expertise through published books, podcasts, and other media. He also serves on public boards, including Moelis & Company. He is also served as the Acting Director of the Jackie Robinson Museum.