Bantz awards support environmental social justice and Alzheimer’s disease intervention
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Four IUPUI community-engaged researchers have been recognized with the prestigious 2023 Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Community Fellowship and Scholar Awards. Now in their eighth year, Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Awards recognize and support faculty researchers for their commitment to community-engaged research with funding and other resources.
Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Community Fellowship Award: Indy Toxic Heritage: Pollution, Place, and Power
Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, Chancellor's Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies in the IU School of Liberal Arts, and her Co-PI Laura Holzman, professor and public scholar of Curatorial Practices and Visual Art, in the IU Herron School of Art + Design, are the recipients of the Charles R. Bantz Community Fellowship for their collaborative work to create a traveling exhibit and a series of public conversations to deepen critical thinking about environmental injustice in Indianapolis and to develop strategies to improve the situation. The $40,000 award will support their work “Indy Toxic Heritage: Pollution, Place, and Power” in partnership with The Kheprw Institute, Indy Parks and Recreation, and residents of the Norwood and Riverside neighborhoods.
Dr. Elizabeth Kryder-Reid stated, "Access to safe, healthy places to live is a human right, and the questions we’re addressing are central to that right. The burdens of living with pollution have been inequitably borne by economically disadvantaged and communities of color. This project explores the structural and systemic issues underlying our toxic heritage. It makes connections across what are sometimes seen as isolated contaminated places to build a vision of Indy’s city-wide toxic heritage."
"With support from the Bantz fellowship, we’ll be creating an exhibit that centers community voices, perspectives, and stories. We’ll be highlighting some difficult realities but also celebrating the way generations have fought to create safe, healthy neighborhoods," said Dr. Laura Holzman.
Charles R. Bantz Community Scholar Award: A Pilot Study of the BE SMART (Brain Health Education to Promote Cognitive Screening in Minority Communities and to Increase Diverse Participation in Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Clinical Trials) Intervention
Sophia Wang, Wesley P. Martin Scholar in Alzheimer’s Education and associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the IU School of Medicine, and Veronica Derricks, assistant professor of Psychology in the Purdue School of Science, received the Charles R. Bantz Community Scholar Award for their research that educates minority communities about the value of early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease and offers free cognitive screenings to community members. The $25,000 grant will fund their project “A Pilot Study of the BE SMART (Brain Health Education to Promote Cognitive Screening in Minority Communities and to Increase Diverse Participation in Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Clinical Trials) Intervention.” This project will be conducted in collaboration with the John Boner Neighborhood Center, the Edna Martin Christian Center, and the CICOA Aging and In-Home Solutions Resource Center.
"On behalf of the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, we are delighted to be a recipient of the 2023 Bantz Scholar Award. This award will provide critical funding to do cognitive screening in the underserved, diverse communities in Indianapolis who are most at risk of Alzheimer's disease. With a new era of novel Alzheimer's disease modifying drugs, the need to ensure equity for early detection of Alzheimer's disease is more urgent than ever. This award provides much needed support towards achieving this important public health mission," stated Dr. Wang.
Dr. Veronica Derricks shared that, "We are grateful for the 2023 Bantz Scholar Award to address this important social problem. Despite ongoing efforts to reduce racial gaps in Alzheimer’s disease rates, the ways in which scientists and researchers attempt to engage racially minoritized communities often ignore their voices and perspectives. We are excited to work alongside community members and our community partners to develop educational tools and materials to improve cognitive screening rates in Indianapolis."
For additional information about the award and winners, please contact Teresa Bennett, Assistant Vice Chancellor in the IUPUI Office of Community Engagement, at tkbennet@iu.edu, 317-278-9173.
About the awards:The annual awards, named after former IUPUI Chancellor Charles R. Bantz, are granted for one year to support a collaborative research team made up of faculty, staff, students, and community partners/members to address a pressing community issue in Central Indiana. These awards are made possible with the generous support of the IUPUI Office of Community Engagement, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, and donors.
For more information or to apply for the Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Community Fellowship or Scholar award, visit the Academic Affairs page.