Interdisciplinary Research & Scholarship
The Grand Scholarly Challenges address complex, real-world issues that require a wide range of expertise to have a tangible impact on local, national, and global scales. As the only public research university in Boston, our community is committed to working together to collaboratively shape evidence-based solutions that benefit the greater good.
Our Four Grand Scholarly Challenges:
Climate Equity & Urban Coastal Areas
Climate change is the existential threat of our times. In our harbor city, it is a clear, urgent environmental challenge that touches upon health and wellness, our economic future, and the very livelihood affecting every individual, family, and community in Boston and beyond.
Bridging Divides – Cells to Societies
Societal changes are bringing into focus existing and emerging acute and chronic health challenges fueled by intersecting inequities. Addressing health inequities requires bridging disciplinary divides in understanding the root causes of disease, increasing access to health care, improving mental and physical health outcomes, and addressing health care policy.
Education for the Future
Reinventing education that fosters inclusive excellence requires strategic, creative inquiry that enables educational structures to support alignment with the histories, experiences, values, and aspirations of students who are not the same as those for whom historical educational systems were designed.
Advancing a Just Society
Our local community, indeed our economy and society, must address systemic inequities and anti-democratic trends such as the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and beyond, and assaults on truth. These trends, exacerbated by growing inequality and social media, contribute to polarization and the erosion of democratic norms, which limit our ability to address persistent inequities.
Engage & Collaborate
Share Ideas at Free Lunch “Fridays”
Explore and share new ideas. Any three scholars on campus can propose a ninety (90)-minute session on a topic of their choice. We will support logistics including advertising the event and providing lunch. Note: It doesn’t have to be on a Friday!
Propose a LunchAttend Grand Scholarly Challenges Office Hours
Discuss an idea, develop a proposal, brainstorm a concept, or just chat about scholarly impact with Bob Chen, Director of Grand Scholarly Initiatives.
Email Bob ChenWorkshop Ideas at a Grand Scholarly Challenges Convening
Participate in a campus-wide convening, a two-hour workshop designed to help attendees generate new ideas and make connections across campus.
- February 2025: Education for the Future
- March 2025: Advancing a Just Society
- April 2025: Climate Equity and Urban Coastal Areas
Grand Scholarly Challenge Awardees
The request for Grand Scholarly Challenge proposals issued in November 2024 catalyzed a great deal of scholarly activity, generated strong fundable ideas, and initiated new collaborations. Overall, twenty-nine proposals were submitted.
Congratulations to the six awardees:
- Flood-Induced Managed Retreat Among Older Adults in Subsidized Housing in Massachusetts
Award: $35,000
Researchers: Sowmya Balachandran (PI, School for the Environment), Sung S. Park (Gerontology), Kristin Uiterwyk (Urban Harbors Institute) - Socioeconomic Background & Early Career Opportunities
Award: $15,000
Researcher: Michelle Jiang (PI, Economics) - Think Higher at UMass Boston: Counselor Education for Inclusive Higher Education Excellence
Award: $15,000
Researchers: Clare Papay (PI, Institute for Community Inclusion), Chelsea VanHorn Stinnett (Institute for Community Inclusion), Tim Poynton (Counseling and School Psychology) - Strengthening Indigenous Resilience: A Community-Led Approach to Climate Adaptation for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
Award: $15,000
Researchers: Bala Balachandran (PI, Sustainable Solutions Lab), Cedric Woods (Institute for New England Native American Studies), Wendy Moore (Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina) - Mapping and Building Informal Networks of Care: A CBPR Project to Address Mental Health Disparities among Black Bostonians
Award: $10,000
Researchers: Tahirah Abdullah (PI, Psychology), Nedra Lee (Anthropology), and Evan Auguste (Psychology) - Evaluating the Ability of Nature-Based Solutions to Improve Stormwater Quality with Regards to Plastic Pollution and Develop Education for Effective Green Infrastructure Management
Award: $10,000 Researchers: Shannon Hogan (PI, Urban Harbors Institute),
Juanita Urban-Rich (School for the Environment), Carol Ann Sharicz (Curriculum and Instruction), and Sean McCanty (Neponset River Watershed Association)
UMass Boston Research Resources
Many of the complex challenges of the day—including the GSCs profiled above—will not and cannot be effectively tackled by any one discipline. They require the merging of ideas, approaches, and technologies from widely diverse fields of knowledge—to prompt innovation. UMass Boston is dedicated to becoming a leader in interdisciplinary research and supporting our researchers as they work together on solutions.