By SHANNON O. WELLS
When Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) launched in 2002, Kyaien Conner was a graduate student in the School of Social Work. To say she was receptive to the center’s mission and programming would be a notable understatement.
“I was present for its inception,” she said. “I attended CRSP events and the renowned speaker series. I was listening to scholars of color from all over the world come to the University of Pittsburgh through CRSP to present their work and share how that work was making a real difference in people’s lives and in the communities I cared about.”
Conner said the CRSP and its founder and our school’s former dean, Larry Davis, had a huge impact on her career and development as a researcher and scholar.
This led Conner to “believe that I could do the same thing,” she added. “It was CRSP that inspired me to get my doctorate and use the skills I had developed as a clinician (mental health treatment provider) to develop and evaluate innovative interventions that would help to reduce mental health and health-related disparities facing communities of color.”
As the new director of CRSP, she will oversee the center as it continues to conduct social science research on race, ethnicity and the various ways they impact Americans. Her official first day was Sept. 1. She also will be the keynote speaker at Pitt’s Race and Social Determinants of Equity, Health, and Well-being Initiative Conference on Sept. 29 at Alumni Hall, speaking about “Collaboration, Innovation and Teamwork: The Building Blocks for Solving Complex Social Problems.”
Conner earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and Africana studies, master’s degrees in social work and public health, and a doctorate in social work from Pitt. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Conner left Pitt in 2013 to pursue her career, starting at the University of South Florida, where she was an associate professor of mental health law and policy.
“To have the opportunity to come back to Pitt, 20 years after CRSP began, to be the director of the center that jump started my career, is truly a dream job for me,” she said, “and I cannot wait to get started.”
Conner took some time from her busy transition to share thoughts with University Times on her new role.
University Times: Congratulations on your new role. What brought you back to Pitt?
Kyaien Conner: To be honest, this move was not at all on my radar screen. … Over the past 10 years (at South Florida), I worked incredibly hard to build my career. I was promoted to associate professor, attained tenure, took on new leadership and administrative roles, and had received substantial external funding to support my research.
I was not actually on the “market” for a new job or to leave USF, but sometimes the right opportunity finds you. I had heard from colleagues that (Pitt’s) School of Social Work was looking for a new director for the Center on Race and Social Problems, and that my name had come up in the conversation. I was initially very intrigued, but still unsure. But after talking more with Dean (Elizabeth) Farmer, and my colleagues in the School of Social Work (some new and some who were former faculty of mine when I was a student in the program), I began to get more excited about the opportunity that had presented itself to me.
UTimes: What are your goals for the upcoming academic year?
Conner: This year is an important one for many reasons. Now that I am back, people will be looking to see what CRSP will do, how we will adjust to the new leadership and create a larger footprint, both in Pittsburgh and nationally. It is tempting to want to jump in and just make changes and start “doing things,” but it is important for me to be strategic and thoughtful during this time.
My first goal is to get re-acclimated with CRSP, (which) has a pre-existing staff and they are amazing and have been working incredibly hard to run and manage the center while awaiting my return. I am spending time getting to know them better and learning about their roles and responsibilities, as well as the center’s current strengths and opportunities and challenges and threats.
I also plan to meet with other critical constituent groups (e.g., social work faculty and staff, social work students, etc.) to learn more about how the center could better meet their needs. I will use this information to develop a strategic plan for the center that outlines our mission, goals and priorities. This will help us to set milestones for us as a center over the next year, three years and five years.
My ultimate goal is ensuring that CRSP is viewed regionally and nationally as one of the premier academic centers for race-related research. When new students and potential faculty are interested in studying or researching race-related issues, I want them to immediately think of the University of Pittsburgh.
UTimes: How does your experience at USF and elsewhere inform your role at Pitt?
Conner: It is actually very interesting because I had done all of my academic training at the University of Pittsburgh. I was an undergraduate student from 1998-2002, and then in 2002 started my MSW program.
After graduating with my MSW in 2004, I went into the joint Ph.D. in social work/masters in public health program, and graduated in 2008. I then took a post-doctoral fellowship via a T32 training grant in psychiatry, where I stayed for the next five years, two as a post-doc and three as an assistant professor of psychiatry after receiving my first federal grant (a mentored career development award) from the National Institutes of Health.
My education and training at Pitt was top notch and thoroughly prepared me to be successful in another academic environment. I had enjoyed my tenure at Pitt but thought it was necessary to experience another university and prove I could build a career based upon my own work and efforts. I had other offers when leaving Pitt, some at schools that were higher ranked than USF. I ultimately chose to go to USF, however, because I didn’t want to be a small fish in a big pond. I wanted to go to an institution where I would be able to make an impact, have a voice, and be seen as a leader. USF provided me that opportunity.
UTimes: What are some similarities and differences between those two institutions?
Conner: I think in terms of similarities, I had a great network of colleagues at USF who were incredibly supporting. We worked together on grants, projects and papers and helped to grow the program of research at USF in our department.
I know I will similarly have a great network of colleagues here at Pitt. In fact, so many of my friends and colleagues I worked with and attended Pitt with 20 years ago are still here, which has made this transition feel a bit like coming back home.
There are certainly some differences. At USF, I was in a Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, which is an interdisciplinary department. At Pitt, I will be back in a School of Social Work, which is very exciting for me. Also, Pitt has such a strong culture of collaboration. I have been invited to join many projects at Pitt, and I have not yet officially started. This really speaks to the collegial environment at Pitt.
That the goal is not necessarily who gets credit, or whose name is on the project, but that the work is getting done and that individuals and communities are getting needed assistance and support. This culture makes me incredibly excited about coming back to Pittsburgh. It is a culture that does not exist at all institutions, and truly makes Pitt an amazing environment for collaborative and innovative research and scholarship.
UTimes: About how much does the center’s research focus on the influences of race and ethnicity at Pitt as opposed to the bigger world beyond the campus?
Conner: I think there has been some variation in geographic focus at different times over the past 20 years. Some of that was due to the nature of grants funded as well as to where the center saw the greatest needs and challenges.
Coming into the center as the director, I have the ability to guide CRSP now with regard to the center’s focus. I believe both are critically important. As a center within a School of Social Work, I believe we have a duty and a responsibility to address social problems in our own communities.
We have been working on building trust and rapport with Pittsburgh communities for a very long time, and that hard work has truly paid off. CRSP has a visibility in the community that I plan to continue to grow. So addressing the influences of race and ethnicity in our local and regional communities will always be a priority of CRSP. But it is important that we also recognize the importance of national and international research and scholarship as well.
Our population is incredibly transient, and while there are similar patterns of some experiences, the way race impacts social challenges in Pittsburgh may not be the same as in Atlanta or Denver. So addressing issues in other areas as well is important toward elevating our national footprint and visibility. We also have students interested in doing race-based research internationally (Ghana and Cuba, for example).
So as the center grows, I see no limitations on where (our) work will reach. But again, addressing the challenges, needs and influences of race and ethnicity in our local and regional communities will always be a priority of CRSP.
UTimes: In what areas has the center excelled, and what are some challenges or areas for improvement?
Conner: This is a hard question because the center has been around for 20 years, and it has done so much and excelled in many areas. To highlight a few, CRSP has built a national reputation as an academic think tank. Being a place where the greatest minds come together to discuss challenges and devise solutions to complex social problems.
CRSP has a peer-reviewed academic journal, which has been doing well consistently over the past 20 years, has a high impact factor and continues to publish cutting-edge, race-based research. Also CRSP has been doing amazing work in the training and education space.
Our associate director, Ron Idoko, has created a program called Racial Equity Consciousness Institute, which is a truly innovative and scholarly framework developed in partnership with the community that provides individuals, organizations and communities with the tools they need to actively deconstruct racism and cultivate racial equity. This program is highly sought after and is filling a critical need on the University campus as well as in the community. These are just a few examples of what CRSP has been doing exceptionally well.
I think in terms of areas for improvement, CRSP has not yet had much success attaining consistent external funding. This is an area I plan to focus on. I plan to submit proposals for research-oriented grants, as well as training/praxis grants for students and junior faculty in the school to provide opportunities for training and mentorship around working and conducting research in communities of color.
I am also excited about building up our social media presence. We recently hired a marketing and social media coordinator, Ginger White. She is amazing, and although she has only been with the center for a few months, she has already done a wonderful job highlighting the important work CRSP is doing. I am really excited to have such a dynamic team to work with as I step into this new role, and I know I will have the support necessary to achieve the ambitious goals we are putting into place.
UTimes: As a category, “social problems” sounds rather daunting and broad. Does race play a significant role in many current social problems?
Conner: The term “social problems” does sound very daunting and broad, but CRSP has identified some specific areas of focus. These areas are outlined on the CRSP webpage (e.g., mental health, health, aging, economics, education, etc.). Although this is not an exhaustive list, it does help to provide some focus and a better understanding for others regarding what kinds of social problems we are talking about.
Race absolutely plays a significant role in most current social problems. Race has a great deal of power in our society. Not because you can determine one’s worth or value by the color of their skin, but because we, as a society, have given race power, through its social construction. Race impacts how an individual views the world and how the world in turn views that individual. It impacts one’s life experiences in almost every way imaginable.
Race impacts the prevalence and incidence of disease, whether one is likely to have insurance or access to quality healthcare, whether one is likely to have access to gainful employment, higher education, and it impacts how long one is likely to live. Despite the significant progress we have made a society, we are still a long way away from true racial equity and racial justice. CRSP is just as important today as it was 20 years ago.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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