Dr. Neena Banerjee and Dr. Joseph Robbins were recently awarded an implementation grant from the Teagle Foundation to launch a Knowledge for Freedom (KFF) initiative, after a rigorous 12-month planning process. Their program is titled College Readiness Through Civic Engagement and will be launched in the Summer of 2022. The initiative will expand VSU’s outreach to include the vast segments of youth from low-income families, minority families, and/or first-generation college-bound students who remain underserved across VSU’s 41-county service area in Southern Georgia.
Along with providing ongoing commitment to families and communities in Southern Georgia, participants, or Teagle Fellows, will be introduced to the college experience in an immersive three-week humanities seminar and a school-year civic engagement program. The initiative includes a series of college readiness workshops, college application support, faculty and peer mentorship, and an opportunity to return to campus during the year to complete a public service project. This early intervention strategy will help students overcome the “impostor syndrome,” which will give students the skills, background, and confidence needed to succeed in college, and transform the lives of disadvantaged youths in the region who are disadvantaged due to persisting inequities in the higher education opportunity structure.
Dr. Neena Banerjee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at VSU and has a PhD from the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Dr. Banerjee’s research examines how structural and cultural factors in schools influence student learning outcomes during their elementary, secondary and college years. She is studying the implications of teacher diversity in schools and teacher-student ethno-racial matching on teachers’ job satisfaction, students’ schooling experiences and educational outcomes. She is also interested in issues of teacher quality, school culture and achievement gaps.
Dr. Joseph Robbins is Department Head and Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at VSU and has a PhD from Texas Tech University. Dr. Robbins’ research examines the underlying factors behind, and consequences of, party system development in Russia, East Europe, and throughout the world. He also studies the factors leading to, and consequences of terrorist attacks, as well interstate conflict. His research has been published in journals such as: Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Party Politics, the Journal of Peace Research, and Electoral Studies among others. In addition, he has secured grant funding from state and national agencies. Dr. Robbins also has served as a peer-reviewer for many of the leading political science journals and has been a paid reviewer for Quality Matters (online course reviewer) and for publishers such as Pearson, Cengage, and Sage. As well, Dr. Robbins was invited to deliver a series of lectures for the US State Department in Azerbaijan and to the Contemporary American Theater Festival.
Program Website: www.valdosta.edu/kff
