Gerard Robinson, who joined the Batten School in the fall of 2023 as a professor of practice in public policy and law, has an understanding of America’s penal systems that is historical, encyclopedic, peppered with factual evidence and flavored with his own philosophical musings. 

The American Psychological Assocation shares findings from post-doctoral scholar Gerald Higginbotham's research that racial resentment leads some to associate gun rights with white people.

Historical evidence suggests that White Americans’ support for gun rights (i.e., opposition to gun control) is challenged by Black Americans exercising their legal rights to guns (e.g., The Black Panther Party and the Mulford Act of 1967). This study examined two empirical questions. In both studies, racially resentful White Americans expressed less support for a gun right (i.e., concealed-carry) when informed that Black (vs. White) Americans showed greater utilization of the gun right. Overall, these results support that Black legal gun ownership can reduce opposition to gun control among gun rights’ most entrenched advocates.

Dean Ian H. Solomon was interviewed by NPR for a report on the rally by white supremacists protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee five years ago. The Dean shared that he, too, considers events in Charlottesville a warning.

A new report by Batten School Professor Jennifer Lawless highlights the gender gap in political ambition. The research declares that “politics remains a game for men.”

Batten Professor Brian N. Williams and students from his PEGLLLLab are working with an award-winning documentary team to launch pilot programs in three different cities to address the growing mental health crisis. 

Narratives about Africa as dark, depraved, and diseased justified the exploitation of African land and people. Today, these narratives may still have a hold on people’s fears about disease. This group of scholars conducts tests and studies that, when taken together, make clear that reactions to pandemics are biased, and in a way consistent with historical narratives about race and Africa.

“This exhibit is but a small token of my gratitude for the opportunity to give voice to the ghosts of yesterday,” wrote Ian Solomon, the pavilion’s current resident.

Although previous attempts have been made to measure everyday discrimination against African Americans, these approaches have been constrained by distinct methodological challenges. We present the results from an audit or correspondence study of a large-scale, nationally representative pool of the American public. We provide evidence that in simple day-to-day interactions, such as sending and responding to emails, the public discriminates against Black people. 

New evidence from a team of researchers, including Batten professor John Holbein, suggests that everyday racial discrimination is far more widespread than previous studies have indicated.