The CE Initiative extends annual mini-grants to faculty in order to support, motivate and help produce community-engaged research and teaching activities. Applications are evaluated by a committee along several dimensions, including but not limited to: the project’s potential direct impact on its community stakeholder, along with its focus on diversity, inclusivity and equity; the project’s innovativeness; its potential to succeed; and the continuation of its impact in future years.
These grants are supported by the Lam-Larsen Fund for Global Innovation, established through a generous gift from alum Chris Larsen (B.S., ’84), his wife Lyna Lam, and the Rippleworks Foundation.
Read about this year's mini-grants recipients:
2024 Mini-Grants Recipients
John Logan, Ph.D.
Labor and Employment Studies Program Director and Professor John Logan’s mini-grant project focuses on climate change as a labor issue at the national, state, and local levels. It will be one of the only studies to focus on impacts of climate change on outdoor workers’ health and wellbeing. His students will conduct interviews with workers while being supervised by his former students who are now senior labor compliance inspectors. The results of this study will increase awareness on climate and labor, will be used in union education programs and will support/lobby for stronger legislations to protect outdoor construction workers.
Camille Antinori, Ph.D.
Economics Lecturer Faculty Camille Antinori’s mini-grant will develop an environmental valuation project based on a Martinez Chevron oil refinery incident that released toxic plume of metallic ash in 2022. Students will gather, organize and analyze datasets related to this accident. They will further be involved in federal and state environmental policy and research on actual enforcement and management actions for the toxic releases. The highest quality projects will be shared with the representatives of the city of Martinez along with regulation proposals. This learning-by-doing exercise has students generating their social welfare measures for environmental damage and working directly with tools and concepts of environmental justice while interacting with related institutions.
Yikuan Lee, Ph.D.
International Business Professor Yikuan Lee has been a practitioner of mindfulness techniques in her classrooms and has been conducting workshops to outside communities. In her min-grant project, she will develop a pedagogical approach that would aim to significantly improve students’ learning experiences, academic performance and wellbeing. By developing experience and gaining expertise through outside community partners, Lee will also bring her expertise to Lam Family College of Business faculty and staff with an immersive workshop on overall wellbeing and mental health to benefit the participants.