Congratulations to David Harding, Chair of the Sociology Department, on receiving the Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence and Equity! This prestigious award is presented to UC Berkeley faculty members for outstanding contributions in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice through their research, teaching, and public and/or university service. Harding studies poverty and inequality, urban neighborhoods, education, adolescents and young adults, incarceration, and prisoner reentry. David is an affiliate of the Berkeley Population Center, faculty director of the Computational Research for Equity in Legal Systems (CRELS), as well as a faculty affiliate at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS).
Join us for this week’s Brownbag Seminar on March 19th, 12pm, with Nicholas Mark, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He will present his research on “Estimating Period Effects on Cohort Measures: An Application to Fertility in the Great Recession and Beyond.” This is an in-person seminar, Room 310, Social Sciences Building. Zoom option: Meeting ID: 985 2901 0198 Password: DEMOG_BB See the full event details here. Our YouTube channel is here.
See further announcements and opportunities below.
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EVENTS
March 17 | 2-3:30pm | UC Berkeley Sociology Colloquium | Kim Voss, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. “Frame Backfire: The Conundrum of Civil Rights Appeals in the Contemporary United States.” 402 Social Sciences Building. See the full event details here. Zoom link here.
March 18 | 12:10-1pm | Public Health Research Series | Matthew Raifman, Transportation Safety Researcher at UC Berkeley. “Active Transportation: A Climate and Health Solution.” Please pre-register for the Zoom link ahead of time. The zoom link to register for the talk is here.
March 19 | 12-1pm | UC Berkeley Demography Seminar | Nicholas Mark, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Estimating Period Effects on Cohort Measures: An Application to Fertility in the Great Recession and Beyond.” 310 Social Sciences Building. Zoom option: Meeting ID: 985 2901 0198 Password: DEMOG_BB See the full event details here.
OPPORTUNITIES
NIA Butler-Williams Scholars Program provides unique opportunities for junior faculty, researchers who are new to the field of aging, and postdoctoral fellows to gain insight about aging research. The program offers a variety of perspectives and includes presentations, seminars, and interactive small group activities and discussions. Learn more and submit your application by March 31, 2025.
Call for Papers, Special Issue of Social Science and Medicine. The Gateway to Global Aging Data and Social Science and Medicine invite submissions for a conference and special issue dedicated to interdisciplinary research studying how education influences health and ageing globally. Learn more and submit your draft manuscript or an extended abstract by March 31, 2025.
FUNDING
Burroughs-Wellcome Fund’s Climate + Health Excellence (CHEX) Centers. The Burroughs-Wellcome Fund is seeking applications for their new Climate + Health Excellence (CHEX) Centers award. This is an institutional research and training opportunity that will help institutions bridge the gaps between fields that will have important roles to play in understanding the impacts of climate change on human health and diminishing their effects. Institutional interests in planetary science, one health or planetary health, life science, engineering, physics and mathematical science, quantitative social sciences including public health, economics, and demographics, applied fields, and the arts and humanities can all drive dynamic work at the intersection of climate change and human health.
Important Dates and Deadlines:
- Notices of Intent due to VCRO: March 28, 2025
- Campus Applications due to VCRO: April 18, 2025
- Campus Letter of Intent due to the Foundation: August 7, 2025*
- Invited Full Applications due to the Foundation: December 4, 2025*
Those who are interested should review the Program Website and the Request for Proposals for more information. Applicants are encouraged to contact Aaron Diaz from Foundation Relations and Corporate Philanthropy, at aarondiaz@berkeley.edu, for pre-application counseling.
Budget: Awards will be up to $2M per year for 5 years.
Please direct questions to ltdsubs@berkeley.edu.
Sociological Initiatives Foundation (SIF): Community-Based Participatory Research Projects. The Sociological Initiatives Foundation (SIF) is dedicated to the belief that research and action are intrinsically inseparable. We invite concept proposals for community-academic partnerships that link an explicit research design to a concrete social action strategy. Projects should have specifically stated social change goals. See details on the Call for Proposal here.
- Deadlines: August 15, 2025
- Amount: $15,000 – $25,000
- Geography: United States & Territories
In the past, SIF has funded projects in civil rights, community organizing, crime and law, education, health, housing, immigration, labor organizing, and language/literacy. The Foundation will continue prioritizing projects promoting racial justice and fairer and more equitable laws, policies, and practices. We expect applicants from academic institutions to apply with a community partner.
Preference is given to applicants that are:
- community-academic partnerships
- advocacy or community groups that conduct research that can withstand challenges in academic and policy arenas
- grassroots organizations that organize or link to a constituency through their research
A limited number of concept applicants will be invited to submit full proposals. Projects typically take two years, so applicants should consider such a timeline. SIF’s mission statement, complete guidelines, information on past funded projects, and the online concept application are available using the links above.
CLAGS Scholar-in-Residence Fellowship. Assists scholars and professionals whose research on the LGBTQ experience can benefit from access to CLAGS’s resources and its location in midtown Manhattan at the CUNY Graduate Center. The fellowship is designed to (1) encourage research and writing on the history, literature and culture of the of the LGBTQ community or other dynamic projects relating to the LGBTQ experience, broadly conceived; (2) to promote and facilitate interaction among the participants including fellows funded by other sources; (3) to facilitate the dissemination of the researcher’s findings through lectures via CLAGS’s ongoing Events Series.
Scholars-in-Residence will be allowed to spend up to six months in residence. Beyond a CLAGS affiliation, fellows will receive office space, access to libraries and electronic databases, as well as opportunities to meet and work with leading LGBTQ scholars in New York City. No monetary stipend is available to fellows. The fellowship is open to all disciplines with projects that are related to LGBTQ studies. Creative writing (works of poetry and fiction) and projects that result in a performance are not eligible. Applicants finishing dissertation topics are welcome to apply. See details here.
CLAGS Scholar-in-Residence Fellowships are offered annually, with up to two awarded each calendar year. Applications should be submitted no later than June 1st for a September start date and October 1st for a January start date.
ICWA Fellowship Program. The Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA), supported by the Crane-Rogers Foundation, advances deep understanding of global cultures and affairs by sending outstanding young professionals on independent writing fellowships abroad. Fellows submit monthly dispatches about their research, travel and life during two years of cultural immersion. Many go on to become leaders in their fields. We plan to appoint three fellowships this year for 2026-2028 open to any topic and region. Letters of interest are due by June 15, 2025. Selected candidates will be asked to submit full applications by August 15, 2025. See details here.
CONFERENCES
INVEST Conference 2025: Uncertainty and Resilience in Changing Societies
Turku, Finland, 14–16 May 2025
This international conference will bring together leading scholars and experts to discuss how societies navigate uncertainty and foster resilience in the face of change. Registration is open now. Early bird registration is open until 17 March 2025; regular registration closes on 30 April.
Keynote Speakers:
- Professor Mary Daly (University of Oxford) – A distinguished expert in sociology and social policy
- Professor Michael Ungar (Dalhousie University) – A global leader in resilience research and Director of the Resilience Research Centre
Conference Themes: with over 100 sessions, the conference will feature a broad range of topics, including:
- Social well-being and quality of life
- Migration, integration, and citizenship
- Labour markets, economic well-being, and inequality
- Mental health, public health, and social care
- Research on crises, disasters, and resilience
- Demographic research, social experiments, and interventions
- Methodological advancements in social sciences
For more information and registration: https://invest.utu.fi/conference/
Berkeley Population Center