Congratulations to the Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative (BRESI) awardees, especially those from SNBS! The BRESI awards are funded through the historic gift of $10 million from the Mellon Foundation, the purpose of which is to develop and expand initiatives to advance social and racial justice. Over 500 proposals were submitted across CUNY, with 36 originating from our BC faculty and staff. Of the 36, 17 were funded for a total of $295,240. In SNBS, Mrs. Crystal Schloss-Allen (Administrative Executive Associate to the Dean), and Profs. Sophia Suarez (Physics Department) and Naomi Schiller (Anthropology Department) were among the awardees. Mrs. Schloss-Allen’s proposal titled “BFS Ambassador Program” will formalize the regular activity of students, staff, and faculty in a way that is recognized by the college, while providing stipends to Student Ambassadors. The Ambassadors will engage other students, staff, and faculty to participate in scheduled events. The funding will also be used for the cost associated with Black Faculty and Staff at Brooklyn College’s annual events including the Black Graduation. Prof. Suarez’s proposal titled “Promoting URM Participation and Development in STEM Research of Electrospun Nanofibers” will support URM undergraduates throughout the academic year to participate in the synthesis and characterization of nanoscale polymer fibers. Prof. Schiller (in collaboration with Profs. Maddy Fox and Mobina Hashmi and College Assistant Iqura Naheed) co-developed a proposal titled “Claiming Our Campus: A Participatory Action Research Project on Student Experiences and Analysis of Brooklyn College’s Campus Climate.” This project aims to identify problems as well as programs and spaces where Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and other racially-subordinated groups thrive on campus. This work will align with the core mission of Brooklyn College’s Anti-Racist Coalition to build and strengthen connections across campus between students, departments, and offices; and across titles and roles, with the goal of building an antiracist campus. Congratulations to all our awardees!
