Faculty Grants

Develop Fiction and the Ethics of Emerging Technologies Course

Dr. Heidi Bean (English) will develop Fiction and the Ethics of Emerging Technologies a new 200-level applied humanities course to be offered through the English department for the Core Curriculum. The course is explicitly interdisciplinary and will combine humanist ethical thought with STEM technological expertise. Students will read stories about different emerging technologies (in some cases, real, in others speculative) and engage in discussion and reflection on the broader social and ethical implications of these technologies. Specific course topics and stories will be selected in consultation with BSU STEM faculty and incorporate professional ethics codes.

Redesign Serving-Learning in Childhood Studies Course

Dr. Susan Eliason Childhood Studies) will redesign CHST 398: Serving-Learning in Childhood Studies and provide appropriate course content and activities for 14 modules related to justice-based service-learning in childhood studies. She will also identify Open Educational Resources and create content that will be useable by other faculty for either in-person or virtual delivery.

Develop Global Childhoods Course Using Antiracist and Social Justice Lenses

Dr. Diana García Gómez (Childhood Studies) will create a new course entitled Global Childhoods. The interdisciplinary course will critically examine the concept of childhood as a social and cultural construct. Moving beyond Western views of children's normative lives, the course will focus on understanding how global processes influence local practices and how “childhood” as a discourse shapes global relations. Students will explore topics such as the labeling of certain practices (working children, children living in contexts of armed conflict) as “the ending of childhood” and the otherizing and infantalizing of marginalized communities in the Majority World through an antiracist and social justice lens and think critically about how media and representations of marginalized children shape our understanding of childhood(s) and children's lives worldwide.

Develop Applied Social Psychology Service-Learning Course

Dr. Ashley Hansen-Brown (Psychology) will create a new PSYC 410: Applied Social Psychology course as a service-learning course to collaborate with the Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice to conduct research on BSU students' activism identity and behavior. This advanced topics course has not been taught in over 10 years, and Dr. Hansen-Brown will incorporate a strong research project component. To maximize the benefit to their learning and the campus community, she decided to add a service-learning component to the course, so that students will collaborate with an office on BSU’s campus to collect data that would be helpful for that office. The MRISJ is interested in updating a 2018 survey of students about their activism identity and possibly other social justice measures. The MRISJ will use survey results to develop future educational and experiential opportunities for BSU students.

Develop Innovative Approaches to Mental Health: Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Clinical Frameworks Course

Dr. Myrlene Jean-Venant (Social Work) will develop a transformative course to fundamentally enhance how clinical social workers approach mental health practice through culturally responsive frameworks by developing a new course, Innovative Approaches to Mental Health: Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Clinical Frameworks. It will fill critical gaps in current clinical education by (1) integrating the practical Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Intersectionality, Power Analysis, and Anti-Racism (DEIPAR) framework for clinical settings into social worker training and (2) responding to the increasing diversity of client populations and the documented disparities in mental health outcomes among marginalized communities. 

Develop Food Justice in Brockton and Italy Travel Course

Dr. Arthur Lizie (Communications) will develop a new Communication travel course entitled Food Justice in Brockton and Italy. The course will have a spring-break travel component and address food insecurity as a racial and social justice issue. Dr. Lizie will engage local food security organizations in Brockton and Italy, and the course will be promoted to students of color, an underserved study abroad population.

Expand BSU’s Psychology Peer Mentoring Program

Dr. Stephanie Penley (Psychology) will expand BSU’s Psychology Peer Mentoring program (PMP) through a service-learning course within the Psychology department through PSYC215: Service Learning in the Peer Mentor Program. The current PMP is a research project pilot that explores effective mechanisms for communicating the higher education “hidden curriculum” by using peer mentors to build community within the psychology major, provide insight into career paths, and expand knowledge of resources on campus. Dr. Penley will expand access to the PMP in cost-effective and equitable ways by offering it as a course, including a semester-long community-based project and regular mentor and community contact with reflections.
 

Develop Filmmaking for Social Justice Course

Dr. Colleen Kelly Poplin (Communications) will develop a new Filmmaking for Social Justice course scheduled for Spring 2026. Students will be trained in advocacy filmmaking, applying their foundational film and video skills to create compelling digital media that amplifies the mission of local nonprofit and community organizations through community-engaged learning. The course will develop not only practical filmmaking skills but also deepen students’ understanding of media as a tool for activism.

Develop First-Year Seminar Writing for Justice - Exploring Inequality and Resistance

Dr. Renee Somers (English) will develop a new first-year seminar, ENG 199: Writing for Justice - Exploring Inequality and Resistance. Using a media-based approach, students will engage in analytical and argumentative writing through contemporary and historical explorations of social justice. Students will develop strong writing skills through engagement with social justice topics; analyze how media influences public discourse on inequality, craft well-researched arguments on contemporary social issues, and participate in a writing workshop environment with peer feedback and revision.

Conduct Research on Summer Book Club as Effective Professional Learning Strategy for Teacher-Preparation Faculty Members

Dr. Jackie Boivin (Elementary and Early Education) will conduct a research project on the Departmental Learning Project described below. She will determine if a summer book club rooted in cultural responsiveness is an effective professional learning strategy for teacher-preparation faculty members. The study will explore what impact it has on faculty multicultural efficacy, what areas of multicultural efficacy warrant more targeted attention for future professional development, and whether faculty improve their confidence in and ability to define cultural responsiveness.

Continue Work on Long-Term Civic Research Project

Dr. Emily Field (English) will continue working on a long-term civic research project, People of Color in the Vital Records of North Bridgewater, and will complete adding all the North Bridgewater Vital Records information, births, marriages, and deaths to the ever-growing database about the Black and Indigenous people who lived in Bridgewater in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Conduct Research on the Public's Role in Police Accountability and Civic Engagement

Dr. Christina Hodel (Communication Studies) will conduct research on Body Cameras and Social Justice: Exploring the Public's Role in Police Accountability and Civic Engagement. Dr. Hodel will write a journal article focusing on how such footage is not only used to monitor police behavior but also how it has become citizen tool for conversations about race, power, and justice. She will explore how body camera footage influences local social justice movements and civic engagement efforts in local communities (with particular focus on Bridgewater and Gateway Cities like Brockton, Fall River, and Taunton), and nationally. Via analyses of public posts online on social media and publicly available body camera footage, she will document how these technologies are shaping discussions of police conduct and racial inequality in an online environment. The shift to public release and discussion raises important questions about privacy, consent, and the ethical implications of the public’s engagement with sensitive footage. At the same time, the consumption of such media can spark crucial conversations about racial justice and civic engagement, particularly in communities that have historically faced systemic injustice.

Host a Culturally and Historically Responsive Instruction Book Club

Dr. Adam Brieski-Ulenski and Dr. Jackie Boivin (Elementary and Early Education) will host a Culturally and Historically Responsive Instruction Book Club for members of their Department’s Culturally Responsive and Equity-Aligned Teacher Educators (CREATE) Committee. Participants will read and discuss Unearthing Joy by Gholdy Muhammad and create a shared running document with ideas for action steps for integrating culturally and historically appropriate instructional practices for consideration by the department curriculum committees. This will inform the Department’s goal of revising its curriculum to align with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) requirement for culturally responsive instruction in teacher preparation programs.
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Host the Psychology Department Summer Book Club Institute on Antiracist UDL Pedagogy

Dr. Ashley Hansen-Brown and Dr. Alice Cheng (Psychology) will host the Psychology Department Summer Book Club Institute on Antiracist UDL Pedagogy focused on discussing and implementing ideas from the book Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning: Building Expressways to Success by Andratesha Fritzgerald. Part-time and full-time faculty participants will: (1) broaden their understanding of antiracist pedagogy and universal design for learning principles, (2) exchange pedagogy ideas, (3) revise a syllabus or class assignment based on insights from the book and/or discussions, and (4) upload their revised syllabus or assignment to the Psychology department's SharePoint resource library.

Complete Course on Restorative Justice Practices and Culturally Appropriate Relationships

Dr. Lynn Mayo (Childhood Studies) will complete a 24-hour self-paced, evidence-based Introduction to Culture of Care course on restorative justice practices and culturally appropriate relationships and interactions offered by Colorado State University. This professional development will contribute to interdisciplinary planning at BSU around restorative justice.

Purchase Resources for Read to Me Father Program

Dr. Lisa Troy (Theater) will be supported to purchase resources such as a video recorder, memory cards, books, and/or journals for use by incarcerated men at the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater who are participating in the “Read to Me Father Program.” Participants read books and stories that are shared with their children and grandchildren via video.

Plan Fall 2025 Screening & Discussion of Union

Tim Raycroft (Communications) will conduct planning during the summer for a fall 2025 screening and discussion with Steven Maing, co-director of the 2024 documentary film Union. The film tells the story of the organizers' struggle to unionize at the Amazon Fulfillment Center on Staten Island in New York. The struggle for labor rights is a struggle for human rights and social justice. MRISJ will cosponsor the fall event, which Professor Raycroft will moderate.

Teaching Projects

Develop First Year Seminar Math, Media and Misinformation

Dr. George Birthisel (Mathematics) will develop a broadly interdisciplinary new First Year Seminar on Math, Media and Misinformation, which will be a hands-on exploration of misinformation and how to spot it. It will address topics of civic engagement, equity, environmental science, economics, criminal justice, political science and include a mix of topics drawn from topical current affairs while working toward a solid foundation in media and mathematical literacy.
 

Redesign Psychology Course Research Methods 1

Dr. Ashley Hansen-Brown (Psychology) to revise PSYC 204: Research Methods 1 to incorporate equitable grading practices. She will revise the syllabus, determine learning objectives, develop new assignments, craft assessments of those learning objectives, and create a new grading scale that focuses on those standards. PSCY 204 is a lower-level foundational course in the psychology major, which is one of the largest majors at BSU, and is one of the only PSYC courses that requires a C or higher to be considered passing.
 

Redesigning Cultural Psychology with Multicultural Lens

Dr. Theresa Jackson (Psychology) will incorporate a multicultural lens into PSYC 230: Cultural Psychology. The second half of course will be revised to focus on using the foundational cultural tools students learn in the beginning of the semester to investigate disparities and gaps in equity across social groups within the United State (a multicultural approach). Dr. Jackson will identify new course content that will examine the structural meanings of race, sexuality, power, privilege and resource allocation and how they interact to produce individualized experiences and create new assignments and assessments.
 

Develop New Syllabus and Content for Cultural Psychology

Dr. Michelle Mamberg (Psychology) will develop a new syllabus and course content for PSYC 230: Cultural Psychology that views mental health issues through a critical lens, meeting new curricular guidelines and incorporating social justice and equity principles into the course structure, assignments, and policies. assignments and policies.
 

Develop Courses in Collaboration with University of Cape Verde

Dr. Jibril Solomon (Social Work) will design two courses aimed at improving racial and social justice practices with newcomer immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers. Dr. Solomon will collaborate with University of Cape Verde colleagues to create Migration, Human Rights, and Social Work/Services Family Practice, which will allow BSU and Uni-CV students to study and explore migration, human rights and family intervention practices that would prepare social work and human service practitioners to develop better understanding and interventions. They will also develop English/Cape Verdean Language and Cultural Immersion, which will allow BSU and Univ-CV students to participate in a Travel Study Courses.
 

Redesign Introduction to Education in Secondary Schools with Racial Equity & Social Justice Lens

Dr. Sarah Thomas, Dr. Stephen Krajeski, and Dr. Jim Calnan (Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership) will redesign EDHM 210: Introduction to Education in Secondary Schools to transform it from a conventional pedagogy-focused class to one centered on exploring the history of schooling through the lens of racial equity and social justice. This shift in focus is intended to attract a more diverse student body, potentially encouraging them to pursue education majors, which will diversify the education field to the benefit of students. The student population in U.S. public schools is increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, but most current teachers and teacher education students in U.S. (and at BSU) are White. Students from underrepresented backgrounds may discover an interest in teaching as they recognize the impact education holds in society. Additionally, those who choose not to pursue teaching careers will still benefit, becoming taxpayers, parents, future school board members or legislators with a more comprehensive understanding of educational issues.

Develop Race, Gender, and Health: Ethical Challenges and Responses Course

Dr. Catherine Womack (Philosophy) will create a new one-credit honors seminar on Race, Gender, and Health: Ethical Challenges and Responses. The course will examine and analyze major health inequities experienced by Black, Latina, Native American and Asian-American women, possibly including topics like maternal and infant mortality, race and gender bias in treatment for pain, health care worker bias against women of color in patient settings, the racist origins of fatphobia, mental health racial and gender disparities, lack of representation of women of color in medicine and other health disparities as well as ways to address racial and gender injustice in medicine.

Develop In-Class Activities for Corporate Communications and Responsibility Using Case Studies

Dr. Hui Zhang (Communication Studies) will identify three case studies on environmental social justice and develop in-class activities relating to them for COMM 353: Corporate Communications and Responsibility. The project will provide students with real-world examples of how environmental issues intersect with social justice, and how corporations communicate and respond to these challenges; enhance students' ability to craft effective communication strategies that address environmental and social justice issues in a corporate context and show how environmental social justice is integral to achieving broader sustainability goals within corporate strategies.

Research Projects

Analysis of Learning Abroad: Developing Students' Social Justice Orientations

Dr. Jackie Boivin (Department of Elementary and Early Education) and Dr. Sheena Rancher (Department of Special Education) will study Learning Abroad: Developing Students' Social Justice Orientations to Enhance Domestic Understandings. They will analyze the changes in students’ social justice orientations in the areas of awareness, empathy and efficacy before and after a travel course to Dublin and Belfast. Findings will be shared via conference presentation.
 

Review of Research-Based Strategies of Work with Migrant Children in Our Educational Systems

Dr. Jeanne Carey Ingle (Elementary and Early Education) will focus on a review of current research-based strategies and methods to inform our teacher education programs to work with migrant children who have been displaced into our education systems and who endure multiple challenges as a result. This project centers on the needs of diverse children, many in crisis, who need and deserve new teachers who are compassionate and well-prepared educators. Dr. Ingle and a co-author will write and submit an article to at least one peer-reviewed journal.
 

Conduct Literature Review of Variances in the Working-in-Retirement Career Lifespan

Dr. Margaret Johnsson (Management and Marketing) will conduct a literature review of age 50+ working in retirement options, obstacles, and opportunities for civic engagement, public policy interventions and/or employer-based solutions. She will seek to identify gender, racial, and/or regional variances in how the working-in-retirement career lifespan is evolving and submit for publication in peer-reviewed journals in the disciplines of management (workforce trends), gerontology (income insecurity) and/or public policy (social security adaptations).
 

Conduct a Mock Juror Experiment on Legal Perceptions of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation-Based Hate Crimes in Laypeople

Dr. Nesa Wasarhaley (Psychology) will receive support for participant incentives for her research project on laypeople’s legal perceptions of gender identity and sexual orientation-based hate crime via a mock juror experiment. The study will contribute to the literature by examining perceptions of hate crime victims whose identities do not adhere to a dichotomy and have so far been excluded from prior research. By examining individual difference measures as predictors of victim perceptions, the results also will provide a more nuanced understanding of laypeople’s perceptions of gender and sexual minority hate crime victims by revealing underlying cognitive mechanisms. These findings may also inform advocacy efforts for improving hate crime legal protections.

Community-Engaged Projects

Develop Educational Toolkit on Gender Inclusion in Youth Sports

Dr. Michele Meek (Communication Studies) will develop an educational toolkit with media, articles, lessons, and other resources about gender inclusion in youth sports. The materials will serve as a conversation starter alongside Dr. Meek’s 2023 award-winning short film Bay Creek Tennis Camp. In the film, several Generation Alpha kids decide they no longer want to be split by gender—and they come together in a charming and amusing way to resist their coach’s long-standing policy of gender division.

Develop Alternative Break Trip on Confronting and Reckoning with Racial Injustice

Dr. Hannah Stohry (Social Work) will work with MRISJ to develop the content and structure for a new, engaging and educational social justice Alternative Break trip focused on confronting and reckoning with racial injustice that will take place in Montgomery, Alabama in March 2025. The trip will be planned in accordance with the MRISJ’s alternative break program model, including program orientation, pre-trip meetings, travel week and group reflection sessions with two undergraduate team leaders, six undergraduate student participants and two faculty/staff learning partners.

Developmental Learning Projects
 

Develop Summer Workshop on Reducing Achievement Gaps in Introduction to Public Speaking Classrooms

Dr. Melanie McNaughton (Communication Studies) will create and lead a summer workshop for full- and part-time Communication Studies faculty members on Reducing Achievement Gaps in COMM 102 (Introduction to Public Speaking) Classrooms. Participants will examine IR data on achievement gaps among minoritized groups in COMM 102, the effects of implicit bias, and brainstorm ways to reduce these gaps and provide pathways to academic success for all students. Participants will also develop a set of materials with specific pedagogical strategies to reduce (and eliminate) achievement gaps.

Building Faculty Capacity for Equity Minded Practices Through Guided Conversations

Dr. Sheena Rancher (Special Education) will create and implement a shared learning project for up to 12 faculty members in BSU’s College of Education and Health Sciences. Participants will discuss the book Teaching Race: How to Help Students Unmask and Challenge Racism and learn techniques and strategies for teachers and leaders to examine how they help students unmask racism, particularly at predominately White institutions such as BSU. The project goal is to build participant capacity for equity-minded practices through guided conversations.
 

Teaching Projects

Develop Special Topics in Psychology Course 'The Atlanta Shooting'

Dr. Alice Cheng (Psychology) will develop a new course, Special Topics in Psychology: The Atlanta Shooting (PSYC 350) which will provide an intersectional approach to understanding of how race functions in the United States. 
 

Lead Departmental Summer Institute on Inclusive Classroom Dynamics

Dr. Ashley Hansen-Brown (Psychology) will lead 12 faculty members in the Psychology department in reading and participating in a single-day book club institute in August 2023 for the book Promoting Inclusive Classroom Dynamics in Higher Education: A Research-Based Pedagogical Guide for Faculty.
 

Develop Honors Seminar on Lived Experiences of Immigrants 

Dr. Anne Hird and Dr. Sarah Thomas (Secondary Education and Educational Leadership) will co-develop a new Honors Second Year Seminar focused on the lived experiences of immigrants in the Southeastern Massachusetts region.
 

Redesign Performance Studies Courses to Include Community Engagement

Dr. Deborah Nemko (Music) will purchase scores and modify MUSC 141, 241, 341, and 441 performance studies courses to include a community engagement component in which students perform solo and ensemble works by women of color for local organizations.
 

Review and Prepare Social Justice Resources for Photonics and Optical Engineering

Dr. Samuel Felipe Serna-Otalvaro (Physics, Photonics, and Optical Engineering) will review, collate, and prepare resources about racial justice, social justice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that will be directly applicable to photonics and optical engineering courses. 
 

Develop First-Year 'Music of Black Americans' Course

Dr. John "Bebo" Shiu (Music) will create a new first-year course, Music of Black Americans, that will explore the intersections of systemic racism and social, economic, religious, political, and technological variables on the direction of American Popular Music.
 

Develop 'Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Multilingual Learners' Course 

Dr. Julia Stakhnevich (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) will develop a new course in Special Topics, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Multilingual Learners (TESL 560).
 

Develop Case Study for Youth Homelessness Course

Dr. Michelle Wakin (Sociology) will review policy, programs, and data related to LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth, and create a case study and assignment for the Youth Homelessness course.

Research Projects

Research and Design Module for 'Health Communication' Course

Dr. Hui Zhang (Communications Studies) will research and design a module for Health Communication (COMM 317) in which students will communicate and advocate to local government officials for a health issue concerning racial health disparities among Massachusetts residents.

Research on Impact of White Supremacy

Dr. Alice Cheng (Psychology) will conduct a research project on the impact of White supremacy on those who have internalized that ideology.
 

Research on Lighting and Camera Practices in Skin Tone Representation

Dr. Christina Hodel (Communication Studies) will conduct research to study different lighting and camera practices to better represent the unique characteristics and qualities of a range of skin tones and film color charts illustrating 110 human skin tones for three different types of cameras.

Research on Study Tour Participants Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Pedagogy

Dr. Emily Spitzman (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and Dr. Sarah Thomas (Secondary Education and Educational Leadership) will conduct a research project to analyze data from their week-long study tour to the Dominican Republic, prepare a paper about the results on participants' culturally sustaining and anti-bias/anti-racist pedagogy, and submit to peer-reviewed journals.

Complete Literature Review to the Effectiveness of DEI Trainings

Dr. Melissa Winchell will complete a literature review related to the effectiveness of diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings, and draft it for submission to peer-reviewed journals.

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Community-Engaged Projects

Community Recital of Works by Underrepresented Composers

Dr. Spencer Aston (Music) will hold a community recital of works by underrepresented composers to be held in either Brockton or Attleboro. It may include composers of color, female composers or composers representing the LGBTQ communities. A piece by Pakistani/American composer Omar Naimi for trumpet, voice, and piano will receive its world premiere at this program.
 

Develop Restorative Writing and Healing Circle

Sasha Link (English) will develop a Restorative Writing and Healing Circle for participants in the Adult & Teen Challenge in Brockton. Ms. Link will serve as a writing coach for an emotional wellness group program in which attendees will practice the art of restorative writing using writing prompts, activities, walks in nature and the art of retrospection.
 

Develop and Direct Performances of You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey

Dr. Lisa Troy (Theater) will develop and direct performances of the Bridgewater One Book One Community's selected book, You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey - Crazy Stories About Racism, including at the Town of Bridgewater's Juneteenth celebration.

Resource Acquisition Grants

Community Recital of Works by Underrepresented Composers

Dr. Spencer Aston (Music) will hold a community recital of works by underrepresented composers to be held in either Brockton or Attleboro. It may include composers of color, female composers or composers representing the LGBTQ communities. A piece by Pakistani/American composer Omar Naimi for trumpet, voice, and piano will receive its world premiere at this program.
 

Develop Restorative Writing and Healing Circle

Sasha Link (English) will develop a Restorative Writing and Healing Circle for participants in the Adult & Teen Challenge in Brockton. Ms. Link will serve as a writing coach for an emotional wellness group program in which attendees will practice the art of restorative writing using writing prompts, activities, walks in nature and the art of retrospection.
 

Develop and Direct Performances of You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey

Dr. Lisa Troy (Theater) will develop and direct performances of the Bridgewater One Book One Community's selected book, You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey - Crazy Stories About Racism, including at the Town of Bridgewater's Juneteenth celebration.
 

Teaching Projects
 

Redesign 'Visual Strategies for Digital Media' Course

Dr. Jessica Birthisel (Communication Studies) will redesign “Visual Strategies for Digital Media (COMM 137),” part of the new Digital Media Minor, to include a unit on “art, digital media, and activism” and other skills that can be used to advance social justice causes.
 

Develop Core Curriculum Course on Human Rights

Dr. Emily Brissette (Criminal Justice) will finalize the development of a course (tentatively entitled “Violence, Inequality, and Human Rights’) on human rights to be added to the Core Curriculum and offered as an elective within the Criminal Justice major, which would introduce students to the concept of human rights, the forms of violence, oppression, or deprivation they are meant to protect against, and explore how social movements and civil society groups have used the framework and language of human rights to agitate for social change.  
 

Develop Semester-Long Travel Course 'The Civil Rights Movement: A Historic Tour'

Dr. Maggie Lowe (History) will develop a new semester-long domestic travel study course, “The Civil Rights Movement: A Historic Tour,” in which students will consider their civic responsibility regarding ongoing debates about how best to represent the history of systemic racism as well as campaigns for social justice in the public square. 
 

Redesign 'American Popular Music' to Include Racial Justice Project

Dr. Deborah Nemko (Music) will redesign “American Popular Music (MUSC 168)” to include a national virtual exchange and team-teaching of a project on racial justice in American popular music with music faculty from Eastern Los Angeles Community College. 
 

Redesign 'Introduction to Cultural Anthropology' Course

Dr. Lara Watkins (Anthropology) will redesign “Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 100)” with a goal of strengthening civic engagement and global citizenship for students, while implementing methods fundamentally based upon racial justice, including open educational resources and virtual exchange. 
 

Develop Sociology Elective Course on Youth Homelessness

Dr. Michele Wakin (Sociology) will develop a new elective course on youth homelessness, to be offered as an elective in Sociology and to support the Urban and Education concentrations. 
 

Participate in Departmental Summer Institute on Course Design and Development

The MRISJ will support additional compensation for six faculty in the Psychology Department to participate in a three-day departmental summer institute in which participants will discuss how participants already build cultural psychology and social justice into their courses, brainstorm new ideas, and revise their courses.  This grant was awarded to Dr. Nesa Wasarhaley and Dr. Ashley Hansen-Brown (Psychology).
 

Redesign 'Assessment & Planning' Course to Align with Social Justice Learning Outcome

Dr. Melissa Winchell (Secondary Education and Educational Leadership) will redesign “Assessment & Planning (EDHM 335),” an upper-level course in the undergraduate secondary education major, to align it with the Department’s major’s new student learning outcome on social justice. 

Research Projects
 

Research on Challenges of First-Generation College Students

Research on Korean Migrant Women and Their Struggles for Survival

Research Public Opinion of Criminal Records in Hiring

Dr. Luzi Shi (Criminal Justice) received funding for participant incentives for online public opinion research about hiring people with criminal records. 

Community-Engaged Projects

Survey Identifying Education Opportunities Sought by Seniors 

Dr. Margaret Johnsson (Management and Marketing) will work with the Attleboro Senior Center to conduct a survey of the population of persons ages 60+ to determine specific education opportunities sought by this population. 
 

Increase Participation by Brockton Youth in 'The Kids Road Races'

Dr. Chrissy Semler (Counselor Education) will lead a community-engaged project to increase participation by Brockton youth in “The Kids Road Races" series by raising awareness of the races, teaching mental skills for running to youth, and holding a sport parent workshop. 
 

Develop Sustainable Community Development Tool

Dr. Yongjun Shin (Communication Studies), Dr. Boah Kim (Geography), and Dr. Melinda Tarsi (Political Science) will collaborate on an interdisciplinary, community-engaged project to develop a sustainable community development tool for the Town of Bridgewater. 

Teaching Projects
 

Developed ‘Intermediate Spanish for Elementary Education’ Course 

Alba Aragon (Global Languages and Literatures) reviewed, acquired, and adapted materials to finalize the syllabus for a new course LASP 171, Intermediate Spanish for Elementary Education. 
 

Expanded Inclusivity in Performance Studies Curriculum 

Spencer Aston (Music) updated four Performance Studies Courses to include works by under-represented composers of color and female composers. 
 

Created New Course on Income Equality 

Brian Frederick (Political Science) created a new course on class and income inequality in American politics.
 

Converted Special Topics Course to Second Year Seminar 

Bjorn Ingvoldstad (Communication Studies) converted a new 400-level Special Topics Course on Spike Lee to a Second Year Seminar that will be offered regularly.
 

Redesigned Student Affairs Counseling Course to Include Racial and Social Justice Pedagogy 

Peggy Jablonski (Student Affairs Counseling) redesigned the syllabus and content for the graduate-level Introduction to Student Affairs Counseling course to include a racial/social justice pedagogy. 
 

Developed new Introduction to African American History Course 

Maggie Lowe (History) developed a new course, HIST 251, Introduction to African American History, which will be offered for the first time in Fall 2021. 
 

Decentered Whiteness in Cultural Psychology Course 

Meghan McCoy (Psychology) updated PSYC 230 (Cultural Psychology) to decenter whiteness in the course content by including resources written by people of color.
 

Highlighted Racial Justice Through Dance 

Tina Mullone (Dance) created an original filmed performance about racial justice called “The Original Sin,” one act of which features the statue of Martin. The performance was highlighted in the BSU Dance Department’s Dance Kaleidoscope 2021 and was the focus of a BSU Juneteenth event. 

Community-Engaged Projects
 

Aging, Action, and Social & Racial Justice Issues Series 

Karen Aicher (Communication Disorders) assisted with a three-part Zoom series on aging, action, and social/racial justice issues in Bridgewater, in conjunction with the Bridgewater Council on Aging/Senior Center and Bridgewater Communities for Civil Rights. The sessions were held on March 16 (43 attendees), March 30 (34 attendees) and April 14, 2021 (36 attendees). The talks were recorded and BSU’s Maxwell Library is making them available via the local archives.  
 

Spanish-Language Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness 

Francisco Alatorre (Criminal Justice) assisted with creating Spanish-language materials for a community organization to use to educate people experiencing homelessness about their services. 
 

New Community-Based Learning Psychology Course with Brockton Community Members 

Lizbeth Hoke (Psychology) developed a new ‘Special Topics in Psychology Course’ in collaboration with the Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC). The community-based learning course had a racial justice focus in Brockton and involved Brockton community members. 
 

New Community-Engaged Teaching and Scholarship Opportunity with Girls’ Inc in Taunton 

Maura Rosenthal and Angie Bailey (Movement Arts, Health Promotion and Leisure Studies) co-created a community-engaged teaching and scholarship (CETS) opportunity for MAHPLS students and faculty to be completed at Girls’ Inc. in Taunton, starting in Fall 2021. 
 

Redeveloping String Ensemble to Incorporate Works of Black Composer 

John Shiu (Music) redeveloped MUSC 183, String Ensemble, to incorporate, rehearse, research, and ultimately perform work(s) of a Black composer. Dr. Shiu posted a 17-minute description of the project here, which includes a performance and comments from ensemble members. 
 

New Honors Colloquium on Racial & Social Justice 

Jibril Solomon (Social Work) developed an honors colloquium seminar open to all students that will explore racial and social justice in local, national, and individual consciousness about racism and social injustice in current times. It will be offered in Fall 2021 and has full registration of 12 students. 
 

Redeveloped Course to Focus on Connections Between 19th and 21st Century Activism 

Renee Somers (English) redeveloped the course content for SYS ENG 299 “Fight the Power!” by adding and enriching focus on connections between 19th century and 21st century activism. 
 

Redeveloped Human Behavior in the Social Environment Course 

Pamela Szczygiel (Social Work) redeveloped SCWK 511, Human Behavior in the Social Environment II, for Spring 2022 to better reflect developmental processes and needs of those experiencing structural oppression.
 

Incorporated Racial Justice into ‘Philosophy of Food’ Course 

Catherine Womack (Philosophy) revised the existing Second Year Seminar, Philosophy of Food, to incorporate racial justice issues in every module of the course. 

Research Projects
 

Investigating Political Polarization as it Pertains to Criminal Justice and Policing 

Luzi Shi (Criminal Justice) conducted research is to investigate the extent of political polarization and the impact of such polarization in the context of criminal justice and policing based on theoretical frameworks on political/social identity and moral foundations theory. 

Other Faculty Projects
 

Presenting Work of Racial Justice Task Force at Diversity, Equity and Student Success Conference 

Diana Fox (Anthropology) presented on the work of the Curricula and Co-Curricula Subcommittee of the Racial Justice Task Force at the AAC&U Diversity, Equity, and Student Success conference in March 2021 and purchased books for a partnership with Kashmir University. 

Research Grants

Influence of the Model Minority Stereotype in the Diagnostic Accuracy of Alcohol Use Disorder in Asian Americans

Alice Cheng (Psychology) used a Research Grant to investigate the influence of the model minority stereotype in the diagnostic accuracy of alcohol use disorder in Asian Americans among licensed clinicians.

Literature Review of Psychology Interventions to Improve Outcomes for First-Generation College Students

Ashley Hansen-Brown (Psychology) used a Research Grant to write a literature review of existing research on interventions to improve outcomes for first-generation college students and collaborated with existing offices at BSU serving this population to explore how research interventions informed by the literature review might be used at BSU to improve retention for our students.

Completed a Book Proposal

Michele Meek (Communication Studies) used a Research Grant to complete her book proposal, “Juggling Wolves: Sexual Consent in Film and Media.”

Conducted Research on a Social Justice Paradigm Shift in Social Work Education and Practice

Jibril Solomon (Social Work) used a Research Grant to fund “Social Justice Knowledge and Application: A Paradigm Shift in Social Work Education and Practice,” his research project that explored how knowledge and application of social justice in social work have shifted over the past 25 years, and the potential implications for social work education, training, and practice.

Resource Acquisition Grants

Social Justice Books for Elementary Readers

Marlene Correia (Elementary and Early Childhood Education) used a Resource Acquisition Grant to purchase social justice books for teacher candidate students at Bridgewater State University to use with elementary readers in local schools.

“Unconscious Bias in Schools” Books for Faculty Reading Group

Laura Gross (Mathematics) and Castagna Lacet (Social Work) used a Resource Acquisition Grant to purchase copies of “Unconscious Bias in Schools: A Developmental Approach to Exploring Race and Racism” for a faculty reading group via the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL), which was co-sponsored by the Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice.

Books to Support Research on Social Equity

Seth Meyer (Political Science) used a Resource Acquisition Grant to purchase two books to support his current and future research on social equity in public administration, including a specific project on sexuality and social justice in Africa.

Teaching Grants

Added Social Justice Framework to Anthropology of Education Course

Diana Fox (Anthropology) used a Teaching Grant to reconfigure ANTH 304, Anthropology of Education, to be a 200-level course with social justice frameworks.

Redesigned Global Human Issues Course for the Proposed BSU Living and Learning Community “It Takes a Village”

Joshua Irizarry (Anthropology) used a Teaching Grant to redesign of ANTH 204, Global Human Issues, which was taught as a part of the proposed BSU Living and Learning Community, “It Takes a Village.”

Brought a Social Justice Perspective to Virology Course Relating to HIV, SARS, Ebola, and Coronavirus

Boriana Marintcheva (Biology) used a Teaching Grant to create materials for BIOL 450, Virology, which guided students to examine HIV, SARS, Ebola and ongoing Coronavirus outbreaks from the perspective of social justice taking into account that human health is a function of our physical, mental and social wellbeing of each individual.

Adding Social Justice Framework to Abnormal Psychology Course

Caroline Stanley (Psychology) used a Teaching Grant to re-develop her Abnormal Psychology course to include a social justice framework.