diff --git a/src/wuttaweb/views/roles.py b/src/wuttaweb/views/roles.py
index fa7c8fc..bf4981d 100644
--- a/src/wuttaweb/views/roles.py
+++ b/src/wuttaweb/views/roles.py
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ class RoleView(MasterView):
     filter_defaults = {
         'name': {'active': True},
     }
+    sort_defaults = 'name'
 
     # TODO: master should handle this, possibly via configure_form()
     def get_query(self, session=None):
diff --git a/src/wuttaweb/views/users.py b/src/wuttaweb/views/users.py
index d05b8eb..9c25dc3 100644
--- a/src/wuttaweb/views/users.py
+++ b/src/wuttaweb/views/users.py
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ class UserView(MasterView):
     filter_defaults = {
         'username': {'active': True},
     }
+    sort_defaults = 'username'
 
     # TODO: master should handle this, possibly via configure_form()
     def get_query(self, session=None):