Lisa Nelson, associate professor in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and Philosophy of Science Center fellow, has been selected as co-director of the Collaboratory Against Hate, along with Mark S. Kamlet, professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University with appointments in the Institute for Politics and Strategy, Heinz College and the Department of Social and Decision Sciences
The Collaboratory Against Hate is a joint venture launched in 2021 by Pitt and CMU that brings together expertise from all relevant disciplines to better understand hatred based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation and other prejudices, and to understand the causes of extremist hate and find actionable interventions to minimize its destructive consequences.
The idea for this center came from the long-standing partnership between CMU President Emeritus Jared Cohon and Pitt Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg. While serving together on a committee created by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh in the immediate aftermath of the Tree of Life synagogue attack in October 2018, they were asked to explore ways in which the community might constructively respond to the hate-fueled violence that occurred that day. Cohon and Nordenberg then worked with a group of faculty members at both universities, who contributed to the establishment of the center.
As co-directors, Nelson and Kamlet will work with the center’s executive director, Susan Baida, to lead the strategy for the organization’s future.
Nelson specializes in the field of science, technology and society. She was a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation grant to explore the societal perceptions of biometric technology and has been the recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur grant. Before joining Pitt, she served on the Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Committee. Her current research explores social networking technologies and considers fundamental questions about information ethics and its enforcement on the Internet in an open society. She holds a Ph.D. and J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Kamlet has served in several leadership positions at CMU, including department head of Social and Decision Sciences, dean of the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, provost and chief academic officer, and interim director of the Institute for Politics and Strategy. Throughout his career, he has explored the role and impact of technology on education. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Stanford University, and a master’s degree in mathematical statistics and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.
The new co-directors replace the center’s inaugural leaders — Kathleen Blee, dean of Pitt’s Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences and a professor of sociology, and Lorrie Cranor, director and professor in security and privacy technologies in CMU’s CyLab.