Since Larry Davis retired in fall 2019, the Center for Race and Social Problems (CRSP), which he founded at Pitt in 2002, has been without a permanent director. On July 1, Kyaien Conner, who was a student in the School of Social Work when CRSP was started, will return as its new director.
Conner currently is an associate professor of mental health law and policy at the University of South Florida (USF). She earned her bachelor’s degrees in psychology and Africana studies, her master’s degrees in social work and public health and her doctorate in social work from Pitt. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.
The center was founded by Davis, who was then dean of the School of Social Work, to elevate race-related conversations and research, with the aim of helping lead America further along the path to social justice.
Since his departure, the center has had two interim leaders — James Huguley, associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion and associate professor in the School of Social Work, and John Wallace, who currently holds the position as well as serving as vice provost for faculty diversity and development.
Conner will oversee the center as it continues to conduct social science research on race, ethnicity and the various ways they impact Americans.
“I see many opportunities and possibilities available at CRSP at a time right now when research on these issues is desperately needed,” Conner said. “I’m excited to return to my alma mater and collaborate with scholars and researchers across campus to make the center a robust platform for doing important work that moves our field forward and each of those areas.”
Conner, whose work specializes in racial trauma and minority health disparities, has earned $2 million in funding for her research.
She is also a licensed social worker with more than a decade of experience as a community-based mental health practitioner in predominantly low-income African American communities. Conner was also vice president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness for the state of Florida from 2018 through 2021.
Among other awards, Conner was a USF Outstanding Black Faculty Member of the Year in 2020 and won the school’s Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2016.
Earlier this fall, Ron Idoko moved from the Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to become associate director for CRSP and assistant research professor with the School of Social Work.