For PI-eligible faculty at U-M Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint

There are persistent racial disparities within the United States and globally, embedded in systems related to health, education, income and wealth, law and criminal justice, and community development and infrastructure, among other areas. Despite evidence of deep systemic and interpersonal racism across societal spaces, the manifestations of racial inequality and the complex mechanisms through which racial inequality impacts individual, group, community, institutional, and societal level outcomes are still under examined. Further, we are in a time of increased urgency given the current intersections of the COVID-19 public health crisis, rapid shifts in educational systems, economic challenges, and both growing awareness of and growing civil resistance to systemic racism. We believe that research can play an important role in supporting a society that is humane, equitable and just.

As such, a key goal for the OVPR Anti-Racism Grants program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious, and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in relation to racial equity and justice in society. Another goal is to provide funding and research development support to PI teams with projects that would position the PIs/teams to be competitive for future external funding.

Projects should focus on topics and processes related to racism at structural, systemic, institutional, interpersonal, and/or intrapersonal levels, which could cover a variety of domains, including, but not limited to:

  • Health and wellbeing
  • Education in formal and/or informal settings
  • Socioeconomic and occupational stratification and mobility
  • Environmental racism and social justice
  • Community development and infrastructure
  • Social movements and activism
  • Immigration experiences and policy
  • Social attitudes and responses to diversity
  • Criminal justice, policing, and the legal system
Apply by June 1

About the OVPR Anti-Racism Grants

The Office of the Vice President for Research Anti-Racism Grants aim to catalyze innovative research and scholarship efforts that will advance knowledge and understanding around complex societal racial inequalities that can inform actions to achieve equity and justice. These grants were developed in partnership with the Provost’s Anti-Racism Initiative.