We aspire to become a premier, university-wide research center that will function as a hub of activities, networking, and support for scholarship and outreach centered on urban-related subjects, broadly defined.

We work closely with the University, the City of Hartford and its surrounding communities, and the State of Connecticut to facilitate discussions and actions that address mutually determined community needs, and to equip UConn Hartford students with research skills and opportunities to best serve their communities.

Our community outreach and engagement help residents of Hartford and its surrounding communities who want to improve their quality of life through collaborative use of UConn resources specific to urban-related research. Our success is reflected in the increasing number of community partnerships we have established, the communities we serve, and our facilitation of projects that bridge community, students, and research.

RRCRE Staff

Dr. David G. Embrick, the Director of Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity at UConn Hartford, is an Associate Professor with a joint position in Africana Studies Institute and the Department of Sociology, and affiliate faculty at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at UConn. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in 2006. He is a former American Sociological Association Minority Fellow, Past-President of the Southwestern Sociological Association and the Association for Humanist Sociology, and Past-Founding Co-Editor of the highly ranked academic journal Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. Currently, Dr. Embrick serves as the Founding Series Editor of Sociology of Diversity, Bristol University Press; and the Founding Series Co-Editor of Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, University of Georgia Press. Dr. Embrick’s research has centered largely on the impact of contemporary forms of racism on people of color. He has published extensively on diversity ideology; racism, space, and place; racial microaggressions; and social exclusion in online virtual environments. His most recent research centers on comparative/global anti-Black racism, white sanctuaries, and whitelash. Dr. Embrick has published in a number of journals including Critical Sociology, Sociological Forum, Social Problems, Symbolic Interaction, The Journal of International Sociology and Social Policy, Race and Society, and Sex Roles. He has been invited to give talks on his work in a wide range of venues both academic and public.

Rachel Smith Hale is the Assistant Director of Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity at UConn Hartford. She has a BA in History and American Studies from UConn and an MA in Early American History from the University of Colorado Boulder. Before joining the Sustainable Global Cities Initiative at UConn Hartford in 2019 – the precursor to what is now Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity – Rachel was Project Manager and Research Assistant for the Office of the Connecticut State Historian for several years, where her projects included writing for and editing the Today in Connecticut History project (todayincthistory.com) and serving as Administrative Co-Editor of Common-place: The Interactive Journal of Early American Life. Rachel also has extensive public history experience, working with several Connecticut museums as an exhibit writer, editor, and historical consultant. As Assistant Director of RRCRE, in addition to implementing grants, managing communications, and supervising student teams, she is currently focused on exploring the many ways in which mapping software and analysis (GIS) can assist with RRCRE’s future goals and projects.

Katalina Euraque is the Administrative Program Assistant for the office of the State Historian and the Research on Resilient Cities, Racism and Equity initiative. Bio coming soon!

Partnerships and Support

Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity receives core institutional support from its home campus of UConn Hartford as well as other key partners, listed below. Our ever-growing list of partners, both within the University and beyond, reflects our deep commitment to interdisciplinary research and collaborative, community-driven action. These partnerships help maximize RRCRE's impact by supporting our initiatives throughout the University and into the surrounding Hartford community and beyond.