Northeastern’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society marks two decades of service this year.

Dedicated to improving awareness of sport’s relationship to society and developing programs that identify problems, offer solutions, and promote sport’s benefits, the center has long urged the sports community to use its powerful influence to foster positive social change.

The various Sport in Society programs, which are aimed at students, athletes, and administrators, have a wide range of goals, including increasing academic success, preventing violence, championing sport for people with disabilities, promoting diversity awareness and conflict resolution, and boosting youth sport in Boston neighborhoods.

“We’re proud of the programs that we offer and the impact they’ve made over the years,” says center director Peter Roby, who took over after founder Richard Lapchick stepped down in 2002.

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