At an intimate rooftop celebratory dinner on November 9th, the Global Lab’s founding faculty director, Professor Manisha Shah was named the inaugural Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. Chair in Social Justice for her rigorous research and commitment to furthering social justice. 

Meyer and Renee Luskin, the chair’s benefactors, established this endowed professorship in the name of Franklin D. Gilliam, the former Luskin Dean and now Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, to support the social justice work of individuals who aim to make the world a better place. 

Gilliam stressed how demanding and difficult it is to advance human rights. “This is hard work, it’s complicated work. It’s real work … on the ground, dealing with real-world policy problems that affect the society” he said.   

Reinforcing this reality, in her remarks Shah delved into the heavy theme of intimate partner violence, drastically shifting the atmosphere of the event from celebratory and relaxed to serious and calling for action. 

“How do we ensure that evidence-backed policies that improve outcomes for women and the wider society – like the decriminalization of sex work – are adopted?” asked Shah. “The research produced at institutions like ours needs to get embedded into real-world policies to actually have an impact, and as academics, we don’t always have the right incentives to make that happen.” 

Her solution is the Global Lab for Research in Action, a research institute she established in partnership with Janine N’jie David, founding deputy director, through which globally-focused academics can push their research out of the ivory tower into the public sphere to embed into real-world policy. 

“We don’t stop at the research. We communicate and amplify findings broadly – through podcasts, documentaries, op-eds, and policy briefs – in order to inform policy and influence policy, improve programs across the globe, and shift the public conversation and eventually social norms” she stated.