We believe in creating synergies that support diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. A new center and cluster hire and retention initiative complement and amplify the Latinx Cluster Hire.
Center for Ethnic Studies Research (CESR)
The rising number of Latinx students, the expansion of ethnic-based student organizations on campus and the need to address declining African American/African Diaspora student enrollment led to the formation of the Center for Ethnic Studies Research (CESR).
To address these factors, in 2021, the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) established CESR and named Dr. Michele Reid-Vazquez, then Associate Professor of Africana Studies, as the Founding Director of the Center.
The mission of CESR is to advance rigorous, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research on the histories, experiences, and current issues in U.S.-based ethnic communities of color, including Latinxs, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and African Americans/Black Diasporas.
Following Dr. Reid-Vazquez's departure from Pitt in 2023, Dr. Zuly Inirio assumed the role of interim co-Director of CESR alongside Dr. Victor Figuereo, who began his role as interim co-Director of CESR in the summer of 2023. Dr. Inirio is a specialist in Ethnic Studies, the arts, and social justice. Dr. Victor Figuereo is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work and is part of the Latinx Cluster Hire cohort.
Learn more about the Center for Ethnic Studies Research: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/cesr/.
Race and Social Determinants of Equity, Health, and Well-Being Cluster Hire and Retention Initiative
Building on the response to the Latinx Cluster Hire Initiative, in 2020, the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of the Provost and the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences announced the Race and Social Determinants of Equity, Health, and Well-Being Cluster Hire and Retention Initiative. The purpose of this initiative was fourfold: to significantly increase the number of faculty working in these fields who are hired, promoted and retained; to attract, recruit and graduate undergraduate and graduate students for whom these issues are important; to raise the University’s local, national and international profile and expertise in race and social determinants of equity, health and well-being; and to increase the University’s capacity to contribute to important and sustainable societal change.
Read the Race and Social Determinants of Equity, Health, and Well-Being Cluster Hire Initiative brochure.