In 1994, West accepted an appointment as Professor of African-American Studies at Harvard University, with a joint appointment at the Harvard Divinity School. West taught one of the University's most popular courses, an introductory class on African-American Studies. In 1998, he was appointed the first Alphonse Fletcher University Professor. This professorship allowed West to teach both African-American studies and Divinity, Religion, and Philosophy.
In 2001, after an argument with Harvard President Lawrence Summers, West returned to Princeton, where he has taught ever since.
The recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees and an American Book Award, he is a long-time member of the Democratic Socialists of America, for which he now serves as Honorary Chair. He is also a co-chair of the Tikkun Community and the Network of Spiritual Progressives. West is on the Board of Directors of the International Bridges to Justice, among others. West is also much sought-after as a speaker, blurb-writer, and Honorary Chair.
Critics, most notably "The New Republic" Literary Editor Leon Wieseltier, have charged him with opportunism, crass showmanship, and lack of scholarly seriousness.
West remains a widely cited scholar in the popular press in African-American Studies and Studies of Black Theology.
West is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He is a member of the fraternity's World Policy Council, a think tank whose purpose is to expand Alpha Phi Alpha's involvement in politics and social and current policy to encompass international concerns.
West appears in both "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions", playing Councilor West, who serves on the council of Zion. West's character advises that "comprehension is not a requisite of cooperation." In addition, West provides philosophical commentary on all three Matrix films in The Ultimate Matrix Collection, along with integral theorist Ken Wilber.
Cornel West has also made several appearances in documentary films, such as the 2008 film "Examined Life", a documentary featuring several academics discussing philosophy in real-world contexts. West, "driving through Manhattan, . . . compares philosophy to jazz and blues, reminding us how intense and invigorating a life of the mind can be."
He also appears in conversation with Bill Withers in the Bill Withers documentary, "Still Bill".
West also makes frequent appearances on the political talk show "Real Time with Bill Maher".
On the musical front, West recorded a recitation of John Mellencamp's song "Jim Crow" for inclusion on the singer's box set "On the Rural Route 7609" in 2009.
In 2010, he completed recording with the Cornel West Theory, a Hip Hop band endorsed by West. He has also released two hip-hop/soul/spoken word albums, one under "Cornel West" (entitled Street Knowledge), the other under "Cornel West & B.M.W.M.B." (entitled Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations). Both works are musical expressions of West's personal politics and beliefs which he has enunciated in his previous written works.
In 2000, economist and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers became president of Harvard. In a private meeting with West, Summers allegedly rebuked West for missing too many classes, contributing to grade inflation, neglecting serious scholarship, and spending too much time on his economically profitable projects. Some people say that Summers allegedly suggested that West produce an academic book (work that is typical of senior Harvard professors). West had written several books, some of them widely cited, but his recent output consisted primarily of co-written and edited volumes. According to some reports, Summers also objected to West's production of a CD, the critically panned "Sketches of My Culture", and to his political campaigning. According to West's book "Democracy Matters," Summers wrongly accused him of canceling classes for three straight weeks during 2000 to promote Bill Bradley's presidential campaign. West contends that he had missed one class during his tenure at Harvard "in order to give a keynote address at a Harvard-sponsored conference on AIDS." Summers also allegedly suggested that since West held the rank of Harvard University Professor and thus reported directly to the President, he should meet with Summers regularly to discuss the progress of his academic production.
West contends that popular coverage of the controversy obscured the true issues at stake in his dispute with Summers. West argues that Summers's vision of academia is corrosive to a deep democratic commitment that strives to connect the academy with society at large, so as to fulfill its calling to educate the public. He contends that the controversy with Summers was indicative of the fact that "a market-driven technocratic culture has infiltrated university life, with the narrow pursuit of academic trophies and the business of generating income from grants and business partnerships taking precedence over the fundamental responsibility of nurturing young minds." According to West, during the controversy he was highly regarded in the academic community, "had more academic references than fourteen of the other seventeen Harvard University Professors", and "had nearly twice as many such references as Summers himself." At the time, West had been focused on reaching wider audiences as part of his effort to encourage civic engagement—especially amongst youth—in the hope of revitalizing what he calls a deep democratic commitment that would counteract the encroaching political nihilism that he argues threatens the future of American democracy. While West does not deny the importance of academics engaging the more specialized concerns of their fields, he strongly opposes the sentiment that academia must limit itself to those rarefied interests. Academia and academics, he contends, have an important role to play in promoting public discourse that cannot be achieved if professors lock themselves in their ivory towers instead of engaging society-at-large and the salient issues of the day. Ultimately, this was the root of the quarrel, according to West.
Summers refused to comment on the details of his conversation with West, except to express hope that West would remain at Harvard. Soon after, West was hospitalized for prostate cancer. West complained that Summers failed to send him get-well wishes until weeks after his surgery, whereas newly installed Princeton president Shirley Tilghman had contacted him frequently before and after his treatment. In 2002 West left Harvard University to return to Princeton. West lashed out at Summers in public interviews, calling him "the Ariel Sharon of higher education" on NPR's "Tavis Smiley Show". In response to these remarks, five Princeton faculty members, led by professor of molecular biology Jacques Robert Fresco, said they looked with "strong disfavor upon his characterization" of Summers and that "such an analogy carries innuendoes and implications... that many on the Princeton faculty find highly inappropriate, indeed repugnant and intolerable."
Harvard University's undergraduate student newspaper, "The Harvard Crimson", suggested in October 2002 that the premise of "" episode "Anti-Thesis" was based on West's conflicts with Summers.
West publicly supported 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. He spoke to over 1,000 of his supporters at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, N.Y.C. on November 29, 2007. However, West now calls Obama a "black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats." In an interview, West said:As a young brother who grows up in a white context, brilliant African father, he's always had to fear being a white main with a black skin. All he has known culturally is white.West's comments about President Obama have drawn criticism from other African-Americans, including Melissa Harris-Perry and Al Sharpton.