University Times

Pitt has established a new center to address “America’s defining social problem” — race relations.

The new Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP), an interdisciplinary center housed in the School of Social Work, provides “an extraordinary opportunity to do good,” according to Social Work Dean Larry E. Davis, the center’s director.

The center is the only one of its kind housed in a social work school, Davis said. “The center will have a bi-focus, to implicitly target race for scholarship and to focus on current rather than historical race-related issues,” Davis told a press conference Dec. 12 announcing the new center.

Unlike other centers of its kind, the Center on Race and Social Problems will focus on multiracial issues rather than concentrating solely on African Americans, added Davis, who also is the inaugural Donald M. Henderson Professor of Social Work.

“The time was right,” said Davis, who acknowledged that he came to Pitt 17 months ago hoping to establish a center that would conduct social science research on race and its influence on the quality of life for Americans in the 21st century.

Ralph Bangs, research associate and co-director of the urban and regional analysis program at Pitt’s University Center for Social and Urban Research, was named the new race center’s associate director. In addition to an advisory committee of Pitt faculty from public health, nursing, social work, psychology and law, and two academicians outside Pitt, the center staff includes two full-time researchers.

The new center’s offices will be located on the 20th floor of the Cathedral of Learning.

CRSP will encourage scholarship in five societal problem areas that are caused or exacerbated by race-related issues: economic and educational disparities; interracial group relations; mental health practice and outcomes; youth, families and the elderly, and criminal justice.

With University start-up funding for three years in place, the center hopes to attract external funding through recruitment of researchers from multidisciplinary groups for funded projects, and by attracting corporate and community partner funding. Partners to date include the NAACP, the Urban League and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation.

Four presentations sponsored by CRSP have been scheduled for the spring term as part of its inaugural lecture series.

The center expects to enable faculty across the University to focus scholarly work on race-related issues and to increase the knowledge base through scholarly publication.

Davis called race one of the most important and most enigmatic problems facing the United States, leading to “the disappointment we Americans feel about social problems that remain stubbornly resistant to eradication. Today, we hear about instances of racial conflict, violence, injustice and inequity. Virtually all Americans are affected.”

He said that issues involving race, ethnicity and color are likely to become more pronounced in the coming years as the racial and ethnic makeup of the country become more diverse. “Presently, [racial minorities] make up approximately 30 percent of the populace and that is expected to increase to about 50 percent by 2050.”

Davis said that CRSP will promote scholarship where racial issues are at the intellectual core. “As a service to the community, the center also will provide a survey instrument, special studies and symposia, including lectures and seminars, to meet the informational needs of public and private institutions and non-profits in our region.”

Further, CRSP will help mentor graduate students who focus on race-related research and policy issues, and will disseminate information to academic and policy-making communities via a web site, newsletters, research papers, workshops and conferences, Davis said.

“My colleagues and I recognize the enormity of the task at hand. But we also recognize that we are attempting to address America’s defining social problem,” he said.

Chancellor Mark Nordenberg echoed Davis’s thoughts at the press conference.

“We have seen some progress, but this society is still separate but unequal,” Nordenberg said. He cited the racial makeup of the prison population, crime victimization statistics and mortality rates as examples of continuing racial disparities. “In our health care system, for example, whites usually fare better than blacks. We need more knowledge and scholarship to enhance our understanding of the role of race in American life and to apply rigorous research from our reservoir of talent to focus on both questions and answers,” he said.

—Peter Hart