Center for Social Solutions (CSS)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SOLUTIONS STRATEGIC FUND - 332199

The Center for Social Solutions seeks to identify, develop, and implement scalable, data-driven solutions that address societal inequities.

In the past year, our Crafting Democratic Futures initiative has continued its community-driven reparations work together with a group of higher educational institutions across the nation, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The project inspired a one-hour documentary titled ‘The Cost of Inheritance’, which premiered nationwide on PBS in January. Our Future of Work initiative has been gathering interdisciplinary experts together in a series of panel discussions to explore how recent advancements in A.I and automation impact the dignity of labor.

Our Academic Leadership Institute residential program, which aims to increase the representation of rising leaders committed to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), looks forward to another successful program in Summer 2024.

Our research team has worked to publish multiple papers and articles on the significance of race and place when it comes to climate risk and resilience. The Community KIDS project has been working with Flint schools to educate students about air and water filtration techniques in an effort to build their trust in the filtration technology installed within their communities.

Student workers and faculty affiliates across the university broaden and enhance the scope of our work in all of our initiatives including indices that measure inequities in hazard relief and track the corporations that pledged to support social justice initiatives.

With your funds, we will continue to generate conversations and projects around Diversity and Democracy, Slavery and its Aftermath, the Future of Work, and Water, Equity, and Security, with the goal of achieving the equality necessary to advance as a prosperous democratic society.