Social Justice & Community
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For future teachers, state funding puts dreams within reach
A four-year grant is removing financial barriers and creating professional pathways for students in UC Santa Cruz’s Master of Arts in Education and Teaching Credential program.
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Research uncovers local labor issues that may be driving increased unionization
Surveys show young workers suffer from scheduling instability, and those who are LGBTQ+ are more likely to experience wage theft and workplace injuries. Meanwhile, census data show a harmful pay gap for Latina workers.
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Phil Chan is breaking down Asian stereotypes one ballet at a time
In a recent talk the choreographer broke down Orientalism and its depictions on stage
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Applying the science of social impact
UC Santa Cruz alumna Jennifer Rigney uses her Ph.D. in Psychology to support mission-based organizations in making effective, data-based decisions about their programs. She has helped advance the ocean conservation goals of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and now supports early childhood development as the director of evaluation and learning for First Five Monterey County.
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Saritaan: Preserving Filipino migration stories across oceans and generations
A new UC Santa Cruz initiative called Saritaan—meaning “to talk story” in Ilokano—is preserving the untold migration stories of Filipino families.
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Professor Sharon Daniel collaborates with Georgetown University in innovative social justice program
Student documentaries on wrongfully incarcerated individuals raise awareness on criminal justice reform
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Stories in the sky: UC Santa Cruz student connects cultural tradition through the stars
Piramon Kumnurdmanee amplifies inclusivity in astronomy, showcasing indigenous stories and practices on her self-produced website, Culture in the Cosmos.
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New book explores social impacts, public health lessons from Peru’s fight against AIDS
Assistant Professor Justin Perez’s latest book focuses on local engagement with HIV prevention efforts in Peru during the early 2010s. During this time period, as global health leaders began to envision an “end of AIDS,” the course of the epidemic in Peru took a turn for the worse.
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Planting seeds of change: Sheyna Burns reimagines agriculture practices
UCSC undergraduate researcher Sheyna Burns (Oakes ’26) is pioneering inclusive agricultural research and entrepreneurship through her campus-based Sankofa Sky Farm, developing a statewide food hub aimed at supporting more equitable farming, and more.
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Graduate students help preserve Dolores Huerta’s legacy through archival fellowship
Three UC Santa Cruz graduate students participated in an immersive, community-engaged archival fellowship—supported by a Mellon Foundation grant and UC Santa Cruz partners—that allowed them to process and preserve materials from the Dolores Huerta Foundation, gaining hands-on training while contributing to the legacy of the civil rights icon.
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Anthropologist Donald L. Brenneis Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Brenneis is a linguistic and social anthropologist who studies the relationship between language and politics and how communication shapes and transforms communities.
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Social psychologist explains historical progress and pitfalls in addressing anti-Black racism
New book applies seven decades of research on race relations and proposes a path forward