This past academic year has been a groundbreaking period for our Society & Culture (S&C) vertical, as we strive to expand our understanding of the human experience through the non-STEM disciplines. Focusing on the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS) has led to several exciting developments that highlight our commitment to advancing research and fostering collaboration.
Next Lives Here Urban Futures Pathway: Society & Culture Initiative
The Society & Culture (S&C) initiative is dedicated to expanding our understanding of the human experience through the non-STEM disciplines. Focusing on the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS), the S&C seeks to advance UC’s research reputation globally while also ensuring our institution is making a difference in the Greater Cincinnati region.
Pioneering Partnerships and Research Initiatives
The past academic year has been marked by several important additions to the S&C vertical, including the introduction of the Urban Futures Pathway Fellowship. The inaugural fellow, Dr. Todd Foley, has embarked on a 12-month research project in partnership with Digital Futures’ in-house nonprofit partner Adopt A Class (AAC). Dr. Foley’s work involves analyzing almost 20 years of AAC data to provide actionable insights, with the goal of scaling up AAC’s efforts through the ‘ResultsOHIO’ funding mechanism. This innovative project not only aims to enhance the impact of AAC, but also works as a proof of concept for expansion to other nonprofits.
Dr. Foley’s enthusiasm for the fellowship underscores the potential for broader applications: “If this project works out as we believe it will, we can then think about how we can apply our approach and partnership model to other nonprofits, starting with the backbone organizations co-located in the Digital Futures building.”
Under Dr. Foley’s guidance, UC research students have also begun a multi-year research study for AAC, aiming to optimize AAC’s use of Salesforce, implementing new strategies to improve efficiencies and elevate the program to new heights. This collaborative effort exemplifies the hands-on, impactful research opportunities available within the S&C vertical.
At our end of year event, Research + Innovation Week 2024, we held a panel discussion about AAC and Dr. Foley’s partnership. In it, expert panelists discuss how AAC effects the wider community and how Digital Futures has had a hand in supporting these efforts. Check out the recorded discussion here!
Launching the Society & Culture Research Fellowship Program
Capping off the year, Vice President for Research Pat Limbach announced the Society & Culture Research Fellowship program at the annual State of Research during Research + Innovation Week. This initiative matches external funding received by faculty in AHSS fields from the National Endowments for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEA and NEH) . These matching funds allow our faculty to expand upon their federally sponsored activities while also providing opportunities to receive important course relief to dedicate themselves more fully towards the goals of their awards.
Anne Steinert
College of Arts & Sciences
History
Assistant Professor
NEH Award: Avondale Neighborhood History Initiative
Matching Funds: $30,000
It’s an opportunity to discover and celebrate the history of this community. The grant covers creation of a team—a corps of local history researchers who will be recruited from the Avondale community.
Hyesun Jeong
College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
School of Planning
Assistant Professor
NEA Award: The Socio-Economic Impacts of Murals on Pedestrian Activities and Local Businesses: A Comparative Study of US Metropolitan Areas
Matching Funds: $20,000
This NEA award provides an opportunity for not only studying the socioeconomic impact of the arts but also creating a meaningful platform where I can work with the arts organizations, architects, planners and policymakers to draw local and national impacts through joining research and design.
Announcing the Society & Culture Research Advancement Awardees
The Office of Research uses the Society & Culture Research Advancement Award to incentivize novel research, exceptional scholarship, and the production of creative and performing art works that creatively address issues of increasing societal significance. The program follows a two-stage, LOI and finalist round process and is open to UC faculty whose proposed activities fall within the areas of the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Congratulations to the following awardees!
Joss Kiely
College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
School of Architecture and Interior Design
Assistant Professor
Master Plan: Soft Power and the Rise of Architectural Expertise
The book project leverages archival materials to contextualize master plans not only within the oeuvres of their respective architects, but also within the evolution of their commissioning institutions or overseeing agencies—groups that have had an outsized impact on society through civic engagement and infrastructural transformation. In so doing, the book project tracks the production process and deduces the guiding principles of these master plans during their creative inception and, in some cases, their ultimate execution. While acting in a professional capacity, architects may have performed as unwitting agents in the Cold War era’s political and economic machinations, even if their personal beliefs misaligned with the prevailing ideology. We hope the readers of the book will be able to consider anew how the ambitions of master plans intersect with larger issues of race, equity, and inclusion at times of political and economic instability and uncertainty, in both the past and present.
Eunjee Kwon
Lindner College of Business
Department of Finance, Real Estate, and Insurance and Risk Management
Assistant Professor
Effectiveness of Housing Voucher Program: Evidence from Small Area Fair Market Rent
This research on the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and its implementation of Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) addresses critical issues under the "Sustainable Cities and Communities" goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By investigating how SAFMR policy influences housing choices and poverty exposure among low-income families, our project aims to foster more inclusive and equitable urban communities. We anticipate that this research will provide actionable insights to refine housing policies, ultimately promoting safer, more resilient, and sustainable urban environments where diverse populations can thrive.
John Leverso
College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
School of Criminal Justice
Assistant Professor
The Cincinnati Youth Survey
This research can help us understand the impact of social media on youth. Recently, scholars have called social media a catalyst for youth violence, while the U.S. Surgeon General has expressed concerns about the effects of social media on youth mental health. This project will allow for a more dynamic understanding of the associations between mental health, youth violence, and social media use among youth.
Gary Painter
Lindner College of Business
Department of Finance, Real Estate, and Insurance and Risk Management
Professor
Preventing homelessness and eviction
While we understand that low income, vulnerable populations are most likely to experience adverse housing events like eviction or homelessness, less is know about how to target scarce resources to prevent adverse housing events. This study will develop a methodology to identify the highest risk households and to co-develop and test an intervention to prevent adverse housing events.
Announcing the UC Coalition for Change Awardees
The UC Coalition for Change (C3) grant program (formerly the UC Community Change Collaborative Equitable Cities opportunity) is a funding opportunity from the Office of Research that builds upon previous Next Lives Here investments in the Urban Futures Pathway. Through this opportunity, the Office of Research seeks to incentivize novel, impactful research, exceptional scholarship, and the production of dynamic creative and performing artworks that address issues of increasing societal significance.
This grant program was open to all UC faculty whose proposed research and activities sought to address the most pressing issues faced by the people in and around Cincinnati and those in communities beyond our region. Applicants submitted a letter of interest that detailed the problem they aim to solve, their approach, and their impact. Then, finalists were invited to submit full proposals and pitch their ideas at a pitch event in competition for up to four $25,000 grants.
Congratulations to the 2023 UC Coalition for Change grantee!
Priyanka Gudsoorkar
College of Medicine
Department of Environmental & Public Health Sciences
Assistant Professor
Integrating Tradition and Innovation: Transforming Health in Rural Tanzania
This work will foster profound societal impacts by elevating rural Tanzanian communities’ oral and overall health, targeting vulnerable communities, and focusing on pediatric and maternal populations. Our comprehensive approach is designed to alleviate dental and periodontal diseases, advance women’s health, and address systemic health issues like hypertension and diabetes, also acknowledged as sustainable development goals (SDGs) health targets. This holistic health improvement will enhance the quality of life, create cultural shifts in health perception, diminish social stigma, and augment disease management, leading to robust community health and cultural shifts towards preventive health practices aligning with SDG3 for health and well-being.
Ayane Kozasa
College-Conservatory of Music
Viola
Assistant Professor
Creative Chamber Music Album & Tour with Owls
Owls' debut album includes works by a diverse group of composers (many of them living) who all have a special voice and have made a significant impact on music composition. Owls itself is a creative collection of musicians who are expanding the boundaries of what a classical chamber ensemble can produce by way of arranging, programming, and performing. Owls' mission is to show audiences and young musicians/aspiring artists the limitless possibilities of chamber music, and our debut album will bring these fresh ideas to a wider community.
Vikram Ravindra
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Department of Computer Science
Assistant Professor
An Investigation into NPO Leadership
This project works with Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) that focus on broadening participation in STEM-degree programs. I will actively collaborate with underrepresented communities to ensure equitable access and opportunity in STEM education and career pathways. This project includes a 6-week nonprofit board leadership training program with Leadership Council to be an effective leader in NPOs.