{"id":64595,"date":"2022-11-17T12:23:33","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T17:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/?post_type=r_cas_magazine&#038;p=64595"},"modified":"2022-12-05T16:07:12","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T21:07:12","slug":"a-social-science-research-hub","status":"publish","type":"r_cas_magazine","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/article\/a-social-science-research-hub\/","title":{"rendered":"A Social Science Research Hub"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"banner-caption\">Deborah Carr is the founding director of the Center for Innovation in Social Science. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi<\/p>\n<p class=\"byline\">By Rich Barlow &amp; Marc Chalufour<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/cas\/files\/2022\/11\/human.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"35\" height=\"35\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-64505\" style=\"width: 35px; margin-left: 0; float: left; margin-right: 15px;\" \/>BU boasts renowned faculty in the social sciences, from economics to history. But collaborating with each other can be hard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere has not been a single, cross-cutting, coordinating center that helps to foster multidisciplinary research initiatives, team teaching, and externally funded research,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sociology\/profile\/deborah-carr\/\">Deborah Carr<\/a>, a professor of sociology. Now, she\u2019s doing something about that.<\/p>\n<p>Carr is the founding director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ciss\/\">Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS)<\/a>, which she calls \u201ca one-stop shopping point\u201d for the BU community to learn about social science research, internships, collaborative opportunities, events, and education programs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a big believer that the more minds that you dedicate to a particular project, the more creative it will be,\u201d Carr says.<\/p>\n<p>Despite operating as a virtual center for its first year, while a permanent space in 704 Commonwealth Ave. was renovated, CISS began fostering that creativity on several fronts. Among the center\u2019s highlights in year one:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hired a CISS administrator, grant administrator, and communications intern<\/li>\n<li>Funded the first cohort of five undergraduate research interns to work with faculty on projects related to mass incarceration, racism, rural suicide, and climate change<\/li>\n<li>Awarded two $10,000 grants for interdisciplinary research, to Makarand Mody, an associate professor of hospitality marketing at the School of Hospitality Administration, and Daryl Ireland, a research assistant professor of mission at the School of Theology<\/li>\n<li>Awarded 27 summer mini-grants to fund research, travel, training, and research assistants<\/li>\n<li>Hosted workshops and shared resources on topics ranging from how to find careers outside of academia to how to seek external funding for research<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now that CISS has moved into its office space, Carr is excited to continue expanding its programs. There are plans to host visiting scholars, and she hopes to host an annual event with a marquee speaker. Tapping into more outside funding will help encourage more research, and an analysis of social science research methods courses and programs may inspire recommendations for new interdisciplinary courses or certificate programs.<\/p>\n<p>The early response to CISS, from across BU, has been resounding, Carr says. \u201cThe folks who have been applying for grants and attending our sessions, a lot of them have said they\u2019ve found their people, they found their home, and the kind of foothold they\u2019ve been looking for. That\u2019s been really rewarding.\u201d<br \/>\n<div class=\" bu-callout aligncenter\"><\/p>\n<h2>Arts &amp; Sciences Today<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/article\/math-and-computer-science-on-the-move\/\">Math and Computer Science on the Move<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/article\/equity-and-justice-in-the-climate-change-fight\/\">Equity and Justice in the Climate Change Fight<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/article\/taking-action\/\">Taking Action<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/article\/a-road-map-to-cas\/\">A Road Map to CAS<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/article\/supporting-tomorrows-professors-today\/\">Supporting Tomorrow\u2019s Professors Today<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/article\/3-questions-with-loretta-lees\/\">3 Questions with Loretta Lees<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/fall-2022\/arts-sciences-today\/\" class=\"button-primary\">View All<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deborah Carr is the founding director of the Center for Innovation in Social Science. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi By Rich [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":64596,"template":"","department":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-articles\/64595"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/r_cas_magazine"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-articles\/64595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65015,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-articles\/64595\/revisions\/65015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"r_cas_department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=64595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}