Whether presenting at congressional hearings or engaging in local policy, scholars have leveraged their positions and work to combat social injustices. This panel discussion examines the experiences of scholars in policy engagement, including the decision-making process on how and when to engage, share highly politicized data, and determine the most effective processes and structures to share their work.

The panel will share the nuanced experiences of scholars who conduct, disseminate, and apply research on contemporarily relevant topics such as immigration, affirmative action and race — topics often viewed as inherently political. Additionally, panelists will discuss the often missed ways in which a scholar’s identity, particularly historically underrepresented or marginalized identities, impact the ways their scholarship is received, interpreted, and legitimized by the public.

Moderator: Tabbye Chavous, Director of the National Center for Institutional Diversity and Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan

Panelists:
William Elliott, Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan

Kristina Ko, Assistant Vice President for Research — Federal Relations for Research at the University of Michigan

Laura W. Perna, James S. Riepe Professor and Executive Director of the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (AHEAD) at the University of Pennsylvania