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Ohio State Faculty, Students Share Racial Justice Work at Symposium

Oct. 20, 2022

by Chris Bournea

During the Seed Fund for Racial Justice Symposium, Ohio State University faculty, staff and students discussed work they have collaborated on with community partners to bring about positive social change. The event was held Oct. 12 at the Fawcett Center, and OSU Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator Whitney Gherman was on the educational panel.

The symposium was the culmination of efforts that began when the university established the Seed Fund for Racial Justice in 2020, said Ryan Schmiesing, senior vice provost for external engagement in the Office of Academic Affairs.

“The fund was designed to support projects that address the historic and contemporary effects of racism and racial disparities found in all aspects of American society,” Schmiesing said. Grant recipients embarked on “innovative, untested and exploratory research approaches and creative ideas that contribute to the elimination of racism and solve its underlying causes and consequences in our campuses, in our community and across the nation.”

In welcoming attendees to the symposium, President Kristina M. Johnson said the Seed Fund for Racial Justice is part of an array of Ohio State programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. One of those programs, she said, is the RAISE initiative (Race, Inclusion and Social Equity), which includes 47 new tenure-track positions, with faculty expected to begin joining the university in autumn 2023. <Read full article...>