$5M grant strengthens USC Equity Research Institute’s mission for climate and economic justice

Since 2007, the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI), based at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, has provided data and analysis to advance economic justice, climate equity and immigrant inclusion. With a new $5 million grant from the Waverley Street Foundation — the largest single gift ever awarded to the institute — ERI will expand that work by advancing a new narrative for economic and climate justice, delivering timely research support to frontline organizations, and training the next generation of community-engaged scholars.

ERI Director Manuel Pastor describes the climate challenge as a crisis of disconnection — from each other, the Earth and future generations. ERI responds by building connection through data, storytelling, and partnerships with the communities most impacted.

“At a time when equity is attacked or ignored in public debates, we are doubling down on why it matters for all of us,” said Pastor, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity and Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC Dornsife. “With this support, we can produce responsive research tools and tell new narratives to help shape policy and public opinion. The Waverley Street Foundation’s investment helps us continue to be a bridge between the academy and communities, shaping a more just and sustainable future.”

USC Dornsife Dean James Bullock praised ERI’s leadership and celebrated the grant’s impact. “Professor Pastor and ERI advance a model of scholarship that positions researchers within the communities they seek to learn from and support,” Bullock said. “This grant empowers them to push their mission further, helping to ensure that people are central to the climate conversation.”

Over the next five years, the grant will support three interconnected priorities:

• A new narrative for climate and economic justice. ERI will develop and disseminate a refreshed vision of why equity matters through a book, popular education tools, and storytelling that build broad public support.
• Ready-response research for climate and environmental justice advocates. ERI will deliver timely, action-oriented support for community-based organizations in California, Arizona and New Mexico, ranging from maps and data tools to public reports.
• Training the next generation of public-facing, community-engaged scholars. With long-time partner Rachel Morello-Frosch at the University of California, Berkeley, ERI will host and mentor as many as six postdoctoral fellows who work at the intersection of communities, climate and data.

The first of several Waverley Street Foundation Postdoctoral Scholars to join ERI is Ezinne Nwankwo, who will collaborate with the institute’s staff and students on environmental, community health, immigration, and racial equity projects.

This focus on training new scholars builds on ERI’s long-standing commitment to the student experience. Over the years, dozens of graduate students have been trained and mentored at ERI, many of whom now hold leadership positions in nonprofits, philanthropy and academia. Several postdoctoral scholars have gone on to become professors at USC and other leading universities, reflecting ERI’s reputation as a hub for effective equity-focused, community-engaged research.

This investment underscores ERI’s model of scholarship — advancing actionable data through collaboration and partnerships, rooted in community needs and responsive to today’s shifting realities.

“These are uncertain times, but uncertainty also brings possibility,” Pastor said. “We know that real change is led by communities. This grant helps ERI put research to work in service of that change through data, stories, and new scholars strengthening community power.”

Learn more about engaged research in practice through this interview with the Waverley Street Foundation’s Lande Ajose and Pastor.

Editor’s Note: Gladys Malibiran contributed to this article.