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Walden University Center for Social Change:
Social Change Resources

Walden University's Center for Social Change is Walden's changemaker resource hub. We empower changemakers, build community, and elevate social change outcomes across the university.

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Winter Highlights

December

December 1st is World AIDS Day.  According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (USDHHS), “The first World AIDS Day took place in 1988, providing a platform to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and honor the lives affected by the epidemic. There has been significant progress in addressing HIV and AIDS thanks to advancements in medical research, increased access to treatment and prevention, and a broader understanding of the virus.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: World Aids Day).

This year’s World AIDS Day theme is Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress. For decades, Walden University scholars and emerging scholars have offered a sustained chorus raising awareness about HIV and AIDS. Visit Walden ScholarWorks to research and access related Walden scholarly journal articles and doctoral dissertations.

Other related Walden resources include:

Academic Course

Walden University School of Lifelong Learning. WNBC2021 Historical and Current Implications of AIDS Awareness: Utilizing Clinical Skills in Your Practice. https://lifelonglearning.waldenu.edu/historical-and-current-implications-of-aids-awareness-utilizing-clinical-skills-in-your-practice/WNBC1021.html

 

Academic Research

Jiménez, R. (2024, October 25). Paulo Freire, Photovoice, and Social Change. ASPIRE Blogzine.

Walden University, LLC. Clinical Trials for HIV/AIDS: Research Programs that Support Public Health. https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/health/resource/research-programs-that-support-public-health

Walden University, LLC. Reflecting on Progress in HIV/AIDS Awareness. https://www.waldenu.edu/news-and-events/spotlight/2012/reflecting-on-progress-in-hiv-awareness

Raising HIV/AIDS awareness is just one of many Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and Community of Care areas in which Walden scholars and emerging scholars foster social change.

 

Walden Research and Applications for Social Change Grants (RASCG)

Here at Walden University, as we continue to celebrate seasons of social change, we also celebrate the Walden Research and Applications for Social Change Grants (RASCG), an annual research grant program, sponsored by the Walden University Center for Social Change.  RASCG recipients become Walden Social Change Fellows. Learn more about Walden Social Change Fellows and their many and varied research projects, here.

Application forms for the Research and Applications for Social Change Grant (RASCG) will be available starting December 2, 2024. The grant application submission deadline is February 3, 2025. Please contact grants@mail.waldenu.edu with questions about the RASCG program. 

Research and Applications for Social Change Grant: Application Information

This Winter season also gives us an opportunity to learn more about Walden University research pertaining to Civil Rights Month (January) and Black History Month (February).  Read on!

January: Civil Rights Month

The New Year brings new opportunities to celebrate, connect, and collaborate!  Re-energize and recommit to social change:

  • Remember the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Explore related academic research conducted by Walden University emerging scholars and scholar-practitioners.
  • Learn about the Research and Applications for Social Change Grant (RASCG).
  • Be inspired by Walden Social Change Fellows.

Related Walden University Dissertations

Author: Frances Vinell Jackson

Author: George Raymond McCord Jr

Walden University Research & Applications for Social Change Grant (RASCG) applications are due on or before February 3, 2025. 

Please contact grants@mail.waldenu.edu with questions about the RASCG program. 

View Past Recipients

 

February: Black History Month

The month of February is quite interesting, because despite being the shortest month of the year, it plays host to two very important events: Black History Month – a time to recognize African diasporan achievements; and February 14 – Valentine’s Day: a day which traditionally centers around the expression of love. Consider honoring both, by studying the life and work of Frederick Douglass, former chattel slave and abolitionist, whose actual birthday, while still unknown, is celebrated on Valentine’s Day.

February 3: Deadline for Research and Applications for Social Change Grants (RASCG). For information about the RASCG, please contact grants@mail.waldenu.edu 

View Past Recipients

Related Walden University Dissertations

Author: Oresha Sharlene Greenidge Foster

Author: Alfred Javier Hawkins

Vivat academia,
Lisa Pertillar-Brevard, Ph.D.
Lead Fellow & Director
Center for Social Change
Walden University

Fall Highlights

Here at Walden University, we continue to celebrate seasons of social change. As we celebrate the Fall season, we harvest and highlight the many and varied patterns of social change research and related manifestations and revelations by Walden scholars and emerging scholars.

Tapestry 2024: Walden University Research Festival, a university-wide event, does just that. Offering self-guided virtual exhibits; and virtual gatherings— a feature film; student presentations; faculty- and staff-led discussion groups; a Real-World Solutions to Real-World Problems™ (RWS2RWP™) Conference on Healthcare Equity; and more, Tapestry 2024 systematically seeks out, provides, and fosters social change research and information literacy, while heralding the process of discovery.

Vivat academia,
Lisa Pertillar-Brevard, Ph.D.
Lead Fellow and Director
Center for Social Change
Walden University

Summer Highlights

The Summer season—June, July, and August, brings a sense of hope and possibilities, as gardens come into their fullness, and sunshine brightens longer days. Shining a light on social change issues, Walden University academic research seeks to understand, include, and inspire throughout the summer season.

June is Pride Month, a time to recognize the history and contributions of LGBTQ+ communities. “The Stonewall riots in New York were a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement. Initially celebrated on the last Sunday of June as ‘Gay Pride Day,’ the day is now flexible. In major cities across the nation, the ‘day’ soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts. Learn more about the origins of Pride from the Library of Congress.” (National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution)

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, “a time to bring awareness to the unique challenges that racial and ethnic minorities in the United States face when it comes to mental illness. In 2020, fewer than one in every two African American adults got care for mental health. In 2018, Asian Americans were 60 percent less likely to receive mental health treatment than non-Hispanic Whites. Obstacles for many include a lack of health insurance, less access to treatment, and stigma.” (fda.gov)

August is Women’s Equality Month, which celebrates the August 26, 1920 U.S. certification of the 19th Amendment. That event opened the door to allow majority U.S. women to vote and inextricably linked such opportunity to the historical legacy of civil rights activism of Black American women.

As the selected academic journal articles and doctoral dissertations below show, Walden University’s academic “gardens” bloom with a variety of related observations, revelations, and applications. Read on!

Vivat academia,
Lisa Pertillar-Brevard, Ph.D.
Lead Faculty and Director
Center for Social Change
Walden University

August: Women’s Equality Month

Related Walden University Dissertations

July: Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

Related Research Published in Walden University Academic Journals

Medical and Mental Health Comorbidities Among Minority Racial/Ethnic Groups in the United States
Naheed Ahmed, C. Andrew Conway, Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, 06/2020

Related Walden University Dissertations

June: Pride Month

Related Research Published in Walden University Academic Journals

Bella Abzug, queer rights, and disrupting the status quo
Trevor G. Gates, Margery C. Saunders, Journal of Sustainable Social Change, 01/2015

Related Walden University Dissertations

Spring Highlights

The Spring season, witnessing the delicate blooming of flowers, and the buzzing of bees, is an inspiring time to advance positive social change. April 11-17 was Black Maternal Health Week, established in 2017, by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA).  In recognition of Black Maternal Health Week, Walden University hosted a virtual symposium!  To learn more about it, please visit the following webpage, and register to experience an encore presentation of Black Maternal and Child Health: Improving Health Outcomes for Black Mothers and Their Babies—A Real World Solutions to Real World Problems Walden University virtual symposium (originally streamed live April 17, 2024).

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, an observance and awareness-raising campaign “established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans' lives, and to celebrate recovery from mental illness. Mental health is essential for a person's overall health. Prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can recover from mental disorders and live full and productive lives.”  (Youth.gov) Below are a just a few examples of related academic research published by Walden University academic journals, designed to help Set a Course for Change™.

May: National Mental Health Awareness Month

Related Research Published in Walden University Academic Journals

James Scollione, Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, October 2021

Subi Gandhi, Ryan Glaman, Elizabeth Wachira, Muna Bashir, Sushma Sharma, et al., Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, July 2022

Sabrina Cherry, Ayanna Robinson, Jared Jashinsky, Grace Bagwell-Adams, Michelle Elliott, et al., Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, January 2017

Lori Salgado, Journal of Sustainable Social Change

March: Women's History Month

  • March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize women’s achievements. Take time to talk to women in your community: learn about the challenges they faced and how they overcame them.   
  • Explore related academic research conducted by Walden University emerging scholars and scholar-practitioners.
  • Learn about National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10, 2024).
  • Consider attending the Virtual Walden University Social Change Fellows Symposium, March 13-14, 2024.

Related Walden University Dissertations

Author: Sondra Jean Beall-Davis

Author: Salma Debs-Ivall

Author: Marlo Greponne

Walden University Social Change Directory

“Walden University defines positive social change as a deliberate process of creating and applying ideas, strategies, and actions to promote the worth, dignity, and development of individuals, communities, organizations, institutions, cultures, and societies. Positive social change results in the improvement of human and social conditions.” (Walden University, LLC. 2023. Social Change. Vision, Mission, and Goals. Walden University Student Handbook.)

Toward achieving these ends, the Walden University Center for Social Chage provides the following connections to research-related activities and applied projects as evidence of positive social change throughout Walden University and the Walden Community.

Aspire Blogzine, Walden University.

College of Psychology and Community Services.

  • Walden University, LLC. (2022). Walden social change. [Interactive media]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com

Meet the Turners: The Founders of Walden University Walden University. (2018, Summer/Fall). Meet the Turners: The founders of Walden University. Walden Alumni Magazine, 13(2), 26-37.

Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS), Walden University.

Office of Civic Engagement and Leadership (CEL), Walden University.

Office of Inclusive Teaching and Learning (ITL), Walden University.

Office of Research and Doctoral Services (ORDS), Walden University.

Office of Teaching and Learning Excellence (OTLE), Walden University.

Podcasts at Walden University.

School of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Studies (SIUS), Walden University.

Social Change Collection, ScholarWorks, Walden University.

Walden Gear

Walden Mini-Libraries, sponsored by Walden University.

Walden University Journals

The Walden University Minnesota Collection, ScholarWorks, Walden University.

Walden University Center for Social Change, Walden University.

 

Walden-Cast™: Walden University Social Change Forecaster™

Walden-Cast™: Social Change Forecaster™ is the first tool of its kind. Developed here at Walden University, we consider it the social change equivalent of a weather forecast. A weather forecast can provide us with helpful information about impending weather changes, so that we can adapt our clothing choices and travel plans accordingly. Similarly, the Walden-Cast™ can provide subscribers with social change updates and related opportunities, to inform Walden University community members in adapting academic research and real-world applications projects to address current and emerging social change issues.

Walden-Cast™ aims to:

  • Allow Walden University faculty, staff, and students to access selected up-to-the-minute public health and social change data for academic research here at Walden University.
  • Enable the Walden University community to reach out to affected U.S. geographic areas where emergent communicable diseases are on the rise.
  • Increase global awareness of positive social change efforts at Walden University.
  • Document positive social change efforts in and through Walden University.
  • Provide an opportunity for Walden University community members to tell us their social change stories.
  • Foster Information Literacy, a Walden University Institutional Learning Outcome (ILO).

Aspire Blogzine, Center for Social Change, Walden University. 

Tell Us Your Social Change Story

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). COVID Tracker: Wastewater Surveillance.

Learn About CDCs Emails Subscription Service

Research Studies Seeking Volunteers, Office of Research and Doctoral Services, Walden University.

Please provide your email address to receive monthly listings of new Walden studies needing volunteers: Participant Pool Request Form. You may opt out at any time by replying "unsubscribe.”

Social Change Highlights, Center for Social Change, Walden University.

ScholarWorks, Walden University.

 

Past Events