CMSI Announces 2024 Research and Innovation Fellowship Cohort!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Jacinda Nembhard | jacinda.nembhard@gse.rutgers.edu
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., December 2, 2024 – The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) is proud to host the first Research and Innovation Fellowship, a virtual program that engages students in innovative problem-solving strategies on issues vital to their communities. The program dates are December 2024-June 2025.
Today, we're pleased to announce this year's cohort of Research and Innovation Fellows:
- Tuesday Barnes, Morgan State University
- Shibbir Ahmed Arif, Montclair State University
- LaDan Johnson, Howard University
- Neil Duraiswami, California State University, Dominguez Hills
- Brandon Graham, Tennessee State University
- Chanda Cherrub Leo, University of the District of Columbia
- Jomarie Coloriano, Marquette University
- Tyfani Turpin, Alabama State University
- Kalue Yang, California State University, Fresno
- Brevie Holiday, Spelman College
- Jonathon Pulliam, Alabama A&M University
- Jasmine Diaz, Goshen College
- Marlene López Torres, University of California, Santa Barbara
- William Shelton, CUNY Graduate Center
- Rheanisha Burrell, Our Lady of the Lake University
Funded by a grant from VentureWell, the Research and Innovation Fellowship participants will learn techniques for framing a problem from an asset-based perspective; collecting data in partnership with people who are directly affected by the problem; creating a prototype solution; evaluating the impact of their work; and disseminating their findings in a way that promotes public understanding, engagement, and action.
Professors from a diverse group of institutions and academic disciplines will join the program leaders, sharing how they have used these strategies in their practice. Students who complete the program and submit a Capstone project (a short policy/research brief, op-ed, or a mini–TED Talk) by June 15, 2025, will be eligible to receive a Rutgers University Digital Badge.
Join us in congratulating these scholars on their selection for the Research and Innovation Fellowship!
About the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions
The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) brings together researchers and practitioners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions. CMSI’s goals include: elevating the educational contributions of MSIs; ensuring that they are a part of national conversations; bringing awareness to the vital role MSIs play in the nation’s economic development; increasing the rigorous scholarship of MSIs; connecting MSIs’ academic and administrative leadership to promote reform initiatives; and strengthening efforts to close educational achievement gaps among disadvantaged communities. The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions is part of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity and Justice (Proctor Institute) at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. For more information about CMSI, please visit http://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu/.
