Initiated in the summer of 2020 as protests of racial injustice filled America’s streets, the Racial Justice and Equity Research Fund aims to promote racial equity and justice throughout our society. In two funding rounds during that tumultuous year, the Racial Justice and Equity Research Fund (RJERF) invested in 17 research projects to take action, investigating racial disparities around COVID-19, developing a civil rights history podcast and taking on issues of racial injustice in a wide variety of other disciplines.
As a flagship, R1 university, it is our responsibility to help society solve big problems. Through this initiative we are incentivizing our world-class faculty who are promoting racial justice through their work and research.
— Julian R. Williams, Vice President, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are pleased to expand the RJERF in 2022 by funding 19 new projects. Interim Vice President for Research Julius Fridriksson celebrated the new 2022 RJERF projects saying, “It is such an honor to step into a role where I have the opportunity to support vital research across disciplines. The Racial Justice and Equity Research Fund epitomizes the spirit of investigation and discovery for the betterment of all people. It is a pleasure to congratulate the 2022 Racial Justice and Equity Research Fund grant recipients. I look forward to seeing how each project informs and enhances racial equity and leads us toward a better future.”
UofSC Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Julian R. Williams, also touted the importance of this research, commenting, “I am delighted that Dr. Fridriksson sees the tremendous value of this initiative and has continued to support it through the Office of Vice President for Research. As a flagship, R1 university, it is our responsibility to help society solve big problems. Through this initiative we are incentivizing our world-class faculty who are promoting racial justice through their work and research.”
2022 Racial Justice and Equity Research Fund Awards
Principal Investigator |
Project Title |
College - Department |
| Banerjee, Meeta | An exploration into contextual factors and career-related trajectories regarding persistence in STEM fields: A study based on the experiences of women and underrepresented minorities. | College of Arts and Sciences - Psychology |
| Becerril Arreola, Rafael | Exploring racial disparities in online retailing | Darla Moore School of Business - Moore Sch - Div. of Research |
| Black, Derek | Race and the Development of Southern School Districts | School of Law - Dean's Office |
| Click, Mary | Never a Regret: George Elmore and the Battle for the Ballot | College of Information & Comm. - Journalism & Mass Comm. |
| Cooke, Nicole | Let's Talk Race with Richland Library and the iSchool | College of Information & Comm. - School of Information Sciences |
| Cutler, David | SAVVY Arts Venture Challenge | School of Music - Music |
| Deflem, Mathieu | Pathways to Racial Justice: The Celebrity Activism of Naomi Osaka | College of Arts and Sciences - Sociology |
| Evans, Jabari | Hip-Hop Civics: Understanding Positive Black Youth Development in Relation to Connected Learning and Creative Labor | College of Information & Comm. - Journalism & Mass Comm. |
| Johnson-Feelings, Dianne | Ty'Sheoma Flying Writing Project | College of Arts and Sciences - English |
| Jun, Jungmi | Have Asian Students Safely Returned to School? Anti-Asian Racism/Bullying Stress and Perceived Social Support Among Asian Students | College of Information & Comm. - Journalism & Mass Comm. |
| Kaczynski, Andrew | Green Justice: Examining socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in access to quality parks across Columbia, SC | Arnold School of Public Health - Health Prom., Educ. & Behavior |
| Li, Zhenlong | A novel data-driven approach to empirically link structural racism and health access and utilization in South Carolina | College of Arts and Sciences - Geography |
| Lima de Vasconcelos, Lucas | Intersectionality between race, gender and computer science stereotypes influencing racially minoritized high schoolers' intentions to pursue computer science major | College of Education - Educational Studies |
| Milling, Stephanie | Culturally Responsive Dance Pedagogy: New Understandings of Culture, Context, and Social Responsibility | College of Arts and Sciences - Theatre and Dance |
| Samuels, Joel | Examining Quality of Community Trust in Law Enforcement: Centering the Voices of BIPOC Communities | School of Law - Dean's Office |
| Shoub, Kelsey | Motivated to Act: Investigating Police Violence and Political Participation | College of Arts and Sciences - Political Science |
| Tang, Hengtao | Understanding racial justice with data visualizations: Fostering underrepresented minority secondary school students' critical data literacy | College of Education - Educational Studies |
| Wilson-King, Dawn | Integrating Cultural Assets & Family Resilience to Address Health Behaviors and Race-Related Stressors Among African American Families | College of Arts and Sciences - Psychology |
| Woo, Bongki | Responding to Anti-Asian Racism: Bystander Anti-Racism on Behalf of Asian Americans | College of Social Work - Social Work - Dean's Office |
20 January 2022