The College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office has selected another interdisciplinary research team to spearhead an A&S Interdisciplinary Research Initiative for Summer 2024. This initiative, generously funded in part by CSU alumni John and Patricia Thompson, is intended to support interdisciplinary teams of researchers to write external grant proposals for work designed to investigate challenges confronting Northeastern Ohio, while also contributing to solutions to the region's most vexing issues.

The team consists of the following faculty members who are all actively engaged in research, scholarship, and creative activity across the Arts, Humanities, and Sciences:

• Thomas L. Bynum, Department of Africana Studies
• Kathy Curnow, Department of Art and Design
• Sara Froehlich, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
• Alexander P. Hoover, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
• Sandra Hurtado Rúa, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
• Sarah Rutherford, Department of Art and Design

The project is entitled "Advancing Quantitative Justice Through Pedagogical Synthesis of Data Science and Narrative Form." The team will focus on developing an interdisciplinary pedagogical toolbox aimed at recruiting and retaining a diverse group of students into the STEM pipeline, and will engage with CMSD, city and county government, local news, and nonprofits.

Associate Dean Conor McLennan stated, "the research team has identified a specific NSF mechanism to which they will apply for external funding to allow them to conduct their work, build a culture of interdisciplinary research that impacts the community, empower students, and promote social equity, all of which are hallmarks for our College of Arts and Science here at Cleveland State University."