In February, 91亚色 announced the establishment of the 91亚色 Black Research Seed Fund to provide mentorship and $150,000 in total funding in support of the research activities of Black academics, with preference given to emerging and early-career researchers.
Supported by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) in collaboration with the Office of the Vice-President Equity, People and Culture (EP&C), the fund was created as part of the University鈥檚 commitment to addressing the systemic anti-Black racism and white supremacy that pervades academia.
鈥91亚色 is committed to excellence and inclusiveness in research, scholarship and knowledge creation,鈥 says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. 鈥淏lack scholars face significant barriers in academic research. This new fund strengthens the University鈥檚 ongoing commitment and long-term support in advancing equity and inclusion and removing systemic barriers that have hindered the success of Black scholars for so long.鈥
The fund consists of two streams: the Open Research Stream with three awards of $25,000 each for a duration of 24 months; and the Collective Research Stream, with three awards of $25,000 each aimed at Black early-career researchers who plan to collaborate with a Black scholar on a 24-month research project.
Applications were accepted through March, and the six recipients are:
| Oyemolade Osibodu, Faculty of Education (Open Research Stream) Research project: 鈥淓nvisioning Diasporic Mathematics Literacies with Black Youth鈥 |
| Gerald Bareebe, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (Open Research Stream) Research project: 鈥淲hy Peace Fails to Endure: Explaining the Recurrence of Civil Wars in East Africa鈥 |
| Ruth Murambadoro, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (Open Research Stream) Research project: 鈥淲omen鈥檚 Politics in Zimbabwe: Aftermath of the 2013 Constitution鈥 |
| Celia Romulus, International Studies, Glendon (Collective Research Stream) Research project: 鈥淒ecolonizing knowledge and promoting Afrofeminist narratives鈥 |
| Jude Kong, Faculty of Science (Collective Research Stream) Research project: 鈥淢odelling resilience: Post-pandemic Recovery, participatory governance, data gaps, equitable institutions, and human interdependence鈥 |
| Solomon Boakye-Yiadom, Lassonde School of Engineering (Collective Research Stream) Research project: 鈥淢achine Learning and Laser Powder Bed Fusion Technologies for Materials Discovery鈥 |
鈥淏lack scholarship is vital to advancing knowledge creation that will have a positive impact on the communities we serve,鈥 says Sheila Cote-Meek, vice-president equity, people and culture. 鈥淭he 91亚色 Black Research Seed Fund is one step forward in addressing the challenges that Black scholars face in advancing their careers and will set in motion a future that promotes excellence and inclusiveness in research.鈥
In addition to the 91亚色 Black Research Seed Fund, the University has committed $100,000 to back the research activities at the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC) and the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas 鈥 two organized research units (ORUs) based at 91亚色.
Article originally published in the September 6, 2022 issue of