The SSRC’s College and University Fund for the Social Sciences (CUF) is pleased to welcome the University of Arizona to its network of over 40 higher education partner institutions.

“We are thrilled by this new partnership with the University of Arizona,” said Anna Harvey, SSRC President. “By bringing as many academic leaders to the table as possible and by ensuring that this group represents the full breadth of outstanding social and behavioral science being done across institutions, we believe the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences can help to leverage the kind of research funding that will be required to solve the massive challenges facing our world, including climate change, increasing inequality, mis- and disinformation, and preparation for the next pandemic.”

Through CUF, the SSRC brings together university leaders and public and private funders of social and behavioral science to set a broad research agenda, build networks that will seek solutions to global challenges, and ensure that significant funding can be directed toward the most impactful research projects.

“Membership in the consortium will allow the university to support its outstanding social science programs and scholarship while contributing to conversations that are setting the priorities for social science research funding,” said Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell, senior vice president for research and innovation at the University of Arizona.

“As the state’s designated land-grant university, societal impact is built into our mission,” Cantwell added. “Our social science research programming is quite indicative of that, with a strong emphasis on community and civic engagement. By supporting this area of research, we’re also expanding our impact on society.”

Social science research is threaded throughout the University of Arizona but is concentrated in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, which has more than 30 academic and research units. The college is committed to interdisciplinary, impactful research through programs such as the Arizona Policy Lab, the Binational Migration Institute, and the Southwest Institute for Research on Women, all of which do research in collaboration with and service to communities and publics.

“Our researchers are dedicated to contributing to solutions to some of the most pressing issues impacting people, from climate change to disinformation to intergroup conflict,” said Lori Poloni-Staudinger, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. “We’re excited to be a part of this consortium and to provide social science faculty and students across campus with new opportunities to obtain funding and collaborate with colleagues across the country.”