UMD Behavioral and Social Sciences Showcase Features Research on Inequality

The University of Maryland's College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) hosted a Research Showcase on Inequality in the Grand Ballroom of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union on Thursday, May 2, drawing 500 attendees from academia, government, and nonprofit organizations. The event highlighted projects related to the BSOS Inequality Research Hub, featuring approximately 50 projects via faculty poster presentations and videos across

several Inequality research themes, including Health and Well-Being, Access to Institutions and Resources, Comparative and International Studies, and Identity-Related Stigma. Guests were offered the opportunity to engage in discussions with the researchers, learn more about their work, and explore opportunities for future collaboration. 

The showcase, which was co-sponsored by the University of Maryland Division of Research and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), offered attendees a unique and engaging format with exhibit lighting and featured project videos on screens throughout the venue. The posters and videos were displayed according to theme, with projects from multiple disciplines exhibited across alcoves dedicated to each of the four themes. The research covered a broad array of topics, including: The Legacy Of Redlining On Present Day Health; Promoting Autism Inclusion and Representation In Research; Reducing Bias When Assessing Language In Preschoolers Who Speak African-American English; Bidirectional Solutions For Addressing Inequality in Access To Substance Use Treatment Globally; Civic Engagement of The Formerly Incarcerated; How Race/Ethnicity/Immigration Status Affects Decisions To Call The Police; and Inequality In The Urban Illegal Wildlife Trade, among many others. 

University of Maryland leadership was in attendance, including President Darryll Pines, Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice, Vice President for Research Gregory Ball, and BSOS Dean Susan Rivera. President Pines and Dean Rivera delivered remarks during the brief program, and a video on BSOS Research and the Inequality Hub was unveiled.

“Our faculty and student researchers are passionately committed to understanding the sources and dimensions of a wide range of inequalities, as well as ways to mitigate them,” said Dean Susan Rivera as she welcomed the attendees. “We know that in so many ways and in so many places, the playing field is not level—and that, oftentimes, the people who bear the burden are not the same ones who reap the benefits. Our research speaks to the dangers of denying or ignoring these facts, and the work you see here will expand your view of their conditions and contexts.”

When addressing the crowd, President Darryll Pines said that the research projects on display were “making a real difference in the lives of real people.”

”BSOS is leading the moment when it comes to work that addresses the grand challenges of our time, from climate change to gun violence to threats to our democracy. This work makes a difference for everyone,” President Pines said. 

This

was the second BSOS Research Showcase; last year’s event featured the Resilience Research Hub. 

“The theme of inequality cuts across multiple domains of everyday life. Researchers in our college are doing cutting-edge work that directly impacts our local, national and global communities,” said Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education Jean McGloin. “We are a leading interdisciplinary voice and this event provides an opportunity to showcase our research in a way that translates outward and facilitates collaboration.”
 

See photos from the event.