BU Representatives Meet with Congressional Staff in Washington to Discuss Social Science
On April 25, BU undergraduate Avery Bolden (CAS ’23), vice-president for Federal Relations Jennifer Grodsky, and CISS director and sociology professor Deborah Carr participated in Social Science Advocacy Day in Washington, DC, hosted by COSSA (Consortium of Social Science Organizations).
Social Science Advocacy Day is an annual event bringing together social and behavioral scientists and science advocates from across the U.S. to engage with policymakers in Congress about issues important to social science, such as federal funding. Advocacy Day participants held a series of in-person meetings with House and Senate offices on Capitol Hill. Through these meetings, participants discussed their research and shared reasons why federal government support for social and behavioral science research is so critical. More than 50 representatives attended the event. Boston University is one of the event’s co-sponsors.
Avery Bolden (CAS ’23, political science), Jennifer Grodsky (vice-president for Federal Relations) and Deborah Carr (CAS/sociology and CISS) represented Boston University at Social Science Advocacy Day in Washington DC on April 2023.
The BU team, the only group from New England participating, visited with congressional staff in the offices of Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). At these meetings, the BU team shared findings from their own and their CISS colleagues’ research – focusing on topics that are most relevant to the congressperson’s or congressional aide’s main policy interests.
For example, Avery Bolden shared results from the research she is carrying out as part of her CISS research internship, under the mentorship of Professor Spencer Piston (CAS/political science). Their research explores the conditions within Massachusetts prisons, from the perspective of incarcerated people, and suggests ways that social policy may help to advance human rights among incarcerated persons. These findings were especially compelling to the office of Representative Pressley, whose legislative activities focus on anti-racist initiatives and carceral reform.
Deborah Carr reported on results from her collaborative research with Ian Sue Wing (CAS/earth & environment), showing how the co-occurring trends of population aging and rising temperatures will pose health threats to steeply rising numbers of U.S. older adults, especially in densely populated areas of the northeast. This work is especially relevant to Sen. Whitehouse, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee and has long-standing interests in the social impacts of climate change, and Sen. Markey, who recently re-introduced the Green New Deal for Health legislation.
Jennifer Grodsky, who started her career as a Congressional staff member, advised and supported Bolden and Carr throughout the day, and shared with the Congressional offices the many ways that scholars at Boston University benefit immensely from federal support.
Bolden, who will receive her BA and MA in political science at BU this spring and will attend law school at University of Chicago this fall, found the day very rewarding. “As a political science student and as a constituent, it can be very common to feel removed from our representatives. There are few opportunities to allow us to directly advocate for our needs and wants. So the opportunity to go and speak about a field of research that I’m passionate about to receptive policymakers and experts was wonderful.”
Grodsky, who plays a critical role in advocating for BU’s legislative priorities and helping BU faculty identify and secure federal funding for their research, said “Policymakers are eager to learn about research conducted at BU. It was exciting to see Dr. Carr and Ms. Bolden make connections between their own research and the legislative priorities the offices are currently working on.”
BU faculty in the social sciences who would like to attend a future COSSA Advocacy Day or nominate a student participant should contact Deborah Carr (carrds@bu.edu).