Center for Social Science Research
College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Food insecurity is something that Drew Bonner, a second-year sociology PhD student at George Mason University, experienced before he knew what to call it. Bonner’s interest in understanding food access was piqued during his AP human geography class in his junior year of high school, when the class studied food deserts, areas where access to affordable and high quality fresh food is limited.

The Center for Social Science Research is pleased to announce that two of our partner-based initiatives, The Summer Institute in Anti-Racist and Decolonizing Research https://cssr.gmu.edu/initiatives/revolutionizing-research-for-social-change-workshop and the Youth Research Council https://cssr.gmu.edu/initiatives/yrc have been awarded a $50,000 seed grant from Mason’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force for 2023. The Summer Institute and Youth Research Council were launched in the 2021-2022 academic year by co-directors Meagan Call-Cummings (CEHD), Amy Best (CHSS) and Khaseem Davis (Executive Director of the Early Identification Program). The PI for the ARIE grant is Meagan Call-Cummings. The Leadership Team for the Summer Institute is Meagan Call-Cummings, Amy Best, Khaseem Davis, Sharell Hassell-Goodman, Rob Graham with graduate student J. Orisha (Sociology).

This year, Fall for the Book—an independent non-profit literary arts organization based at George Mason University—celebrates their 25th anniversary. As a part of their new format, Fall for the Book has launched their Mini Fest, a one-day festival packed with events from a variety of incredible authors.