Racial discrimination against Asian Americans, particularly in light of COVID-19. Dealing with the repercussions of institutionalized racism. Overcoming testing biases. These are just a few areas Fordham’s Interdisciplinary Research Forum on Anti-Racism will dive into on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m.
The virtual event is hosted by the Office of Research, and will include remarks from George Hong, Ph.D., chief research officer and associate vice president for academic affairs, and Vice Provost Jonathan Crystal, Ph.D.
“The Office of Research decided on this forum’s theme because it ties in closely with one of the two top priorities this year for our office and for the University overall,” Hong said. “The other top issue guiding our priorities is COVID-19 research.”
The forum will feature four presentations from Fordham faculty and students.
Tanya Kateri Hernandez, Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law at the School of Law’s Center on Race, Law & Justice will present her work on “Latino Anti-Black Bias: ‘Racial Innocence’ and the Struggle for Equality.
Jeannine Hill Fletcher, Ph.D., professor of theology, will present her research on “Grace of the Ghosts: Encountering Institutionalized Racism.”
Hrishikesh Vinod, Ph.D., economics professor, and Katherine Theiss, a doctoral student in the Department of Economics, will explore “A Novel Solution to Overcoming Testing Bias in Covid-19 Incidence Studies.”
Xiaofang Liu, a Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate School of Social Service, and a study coordinator at the Columbia Population Research Center, teamed up with Professor Qin Gao, Ph.D, Director of the China Center for Social Policy and professor of social work at Columbia University to present on “Racial Discrimination Against Asian Americans During COVID-19: What Do We Know and What Must Be Done?”
Hong said that he hoped the forum would not only showcase faculty work internally but also help raise their profiles.
“Our desired takeaways for those attending are three-fold—first, we hope our speakers will raise awareness of their research on anti-racism across the University,” he said.
“Secondly, we would like to enhance and develop networks for our faculty and student research collaborations on anti-racism. Thirdly, we want to encourage our faculty to seek out and win external grants to support their research in the battle of end racism.”
Those interested in attending can join via Zoom.
