2021/2022 Annual Report

The Equity Center is proud to present our latest Annual Report, representing the work accomplished between July 2021 - June 2022. Included is information about our guiding mission and values, our leadership structure, updates on our Initiatives and other Programs and Partnerships, and a bibliography outlining our contributions to community engaged scholarship. We hope you are able to take some time to read through and discover the impact we're having in the Charlottesville region.

As we reflect on what we've accomplished in the last academic year, we also want to celebrate the work we continue to do. We've made significant progress on several key initiatives in the past 6 months. We'll keep updating you on the status of our work and progress towards our goals in the new year. 

R3 Reviewers hired and onboarded

In July, Residents for Respectful Research (R3) welcomed a new R3 coordinator, Cam Gaillard, and two new reviewers.  With the new additions R3 is now fully staffed and all members of the team are fully trained. This represents a huge milestone for the R3 program -- the first time that all members are CITI certified and ready to begin reviewing. In early January 2023, R3 and the IRB will meet to discuss final steps before R3 begins reviewing. This means that R3 will begin reviewing early 2023!

In addition, R3 has already begun creating connections with researchers and is continuing to work towards informing community members about research happening in their community. One way for community members to get information about research happening is through R3 monthly roundtables, the next R3 roundtable will be Jan 18, 2023. These roundtables are meant to make a space for residents and researchers to meet and discuss research happening in the community, and ultimately R3 hopes that it will also be a space where residents can request research from researchers. In 2023 all members of the R3 team are excited to begin the reviewing process and take a more active role in research happening in the community!

Supporting community arts organizations across the nation

The Equity Center's Director of Community Research, Dr. Sherica Jones-Lewis. and Arts Program Manager, Jess Harris, continue to work as part of the Wallace Foundation-funded Community Orientation Action Research Teams (COART) program. This initiative seeks to foster equitable improvements in the arts by supporting and researching 18 BIPOC arts organizations nationwide. 

 This fall, Dr. Jones-Lewis has been visiting with grantee organizations to better understand their context and support project planning. At this stage in the process, she has visited 8 organizations all across the United States – from as far as the Twin Cities to all along the East Coast. COART has been supporting organizations as they develop Theories of Action for their grant-funded projects, and has integrated findings by evaluating the research goals and terminology based on feedback from organizations.  

In 2023, COART will generate a research design plan that centers the grantees’ experiences and impacts the field at large.