BSOS Research Showcase Sheds Light on Many Facets of Inequality
The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) demonstrated the many multidisciplinary ways that its community is addressing one of the grand challenges of our time—inequality—through an immersive research showcase.
The event brought to life the BSOS Inequality Research Hub and featured more than 40 poster presentations and videos across inequality themes, including Access to Institutions and Resources; Health and Well-Being; Identity-Related Stigma; and Comparative and International Research.
Watch the BSOS Inequality Research Video
During the event, held in the Grand Ballroom of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union on May 2, 2024, more than 400 attendees from across campus—and across Maryland, D.C., and beyond—learned about inequality research in a unique multimedia exhibit.
“Our faculty and student researchers are passionately committed to understanding the sources and dimensions of a wide range of inequalities, as well as ways to mitigate them,” said Dean Susan Rivera as she welcomed the crowd. “We know that in so many ways and in so many places, the playing field is not level—and that, oftentimes, the people who bear the burden are not the same ones who reap the benefits. Our research speaks to the dangers of denying or ignoring these facts, and the work you see here will expand your view of their conditions and contexts.”
The posters, videos and presentations were organized in alcoves according to theme, with projects from multiple disciplines exhibited. The research covered a broad array of topics, such as advancing autism inclusion in the workplace; how low-income uninsured families navigate social inequalities in the healthcare safety net; and reducing firearm-related violence using a multi-disciplinary, community-based and translational science approach.
“The theme of inequality cuts across multiple domains of everyday life. Researchers in our college are doing cutting-edge work that directly impacts our local, national and global communities,” said Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education Jean McGloin. “We are a leading interdisciplinary voice and this event provides an opportunity to showcase our research in a way that translates outward and facilitates collaboration.”
The showcase provided attendees the opportunity to directly interact with researchers and learn more about their work.
This was the second BSOS Research Showcase; last year’s event featured the Resilience Research Hub.
Guests, funders and collaborators at the event included UMD Board of Trustees members, faculty from other schools and colleges across UMD, as well as representatives from the Russell Sage Foundation, Department of Justice, the National Institutes of Health, members of the Maryland General Assembly, and many more.
When addressing the crowd, President Darryll J. Pines said that the research projects on display were “making a real difference in the lives of real people.”
"BSOS is leading the moment when it comes to work that addresses the grand challenges of our time, from climate change to gun violence to threats to our democracy. This work makes a difference for everyone,” Pines said.
Published on Fri, May 3, 2024 - 10:50AM