Academia.edu and Center for Advancing Opportunity Launch Initiative to Celebrate Black History Month

July 22, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — In honor of Black History Month, Academia.edu, the world’s largest platform for open-access scholarly work with almost 75 million registered users, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s Center for Advancing Opportunity (CAO) today unveiled a new initiative to specifically highlight the academic work of professors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

The professors’ scholarly work on Black History can be read for free by accessing the following link: https://www.academia.edu/black-history-month

“Academia.edu is honored to serve as a platform to highlight the scholarly work from academics who have dedicated their professional careers to increasing the world’s understanding of Black History,” said Richard Price, founder and CEO of Academia.edu. “This collection of academic work represents our continued mission to provide open-access for all academic research.”

Responding to a call to action issued by CAO, professors submitted their own in-depth scholarly papers on a wide-range of subjects germane to Black History including:

  • Profiling the journey of a former inmate who later earned his PhD and became a professor of criminal justice
  • Highlighting the contributions of two black entrepreneurs who rose from slavery to transform their communities
  • Reflecting on the experiences of an African American woman professor teaching in the Deep South

“Black History Month provides a slice in time for all of us to appreciate the contribution of black people to U.S. and world history as well as to the contemporary marketplace of ideas,” said Gerard Robinson, executive director of CAO. “One way to celebrate this month is by highlighting the scholarship of HBCU scholars through a partnership with Academia.edu.”

Under Mr. Robinson’s leadership, the center supports students and faculty from HBCUs to develop evidence-based solutions to the most pressing education, entrepreneurship, and criminal justice issues in fragile communities throughout the nation. “Moving people, regardless of race or region, from promise to prosperity remains a top priority for our organization.”

The Black History Month initiative also features personal reflections from two African American Academia.edu employees.

About Academia.edu

Guided by a mission to accelerate the world’s research, Academia.edu aims to make every academic paper ever published available for free online and accessible by anyone. Over 55,000 new users join the global platform every single day. Academia.edu was founded in 2008 in San Francisco by Richard Price who recognized the need for open access of scholarly work while he was a doctoral candidate in philosophy at Oxford University.

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About Center for Advancing Opportunity

The Center for Advancing Opportunity (CAO), headquartered in Washington, DC, is a research and education initiative borne out of a partnership between the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Charles Koch Foundation, and Koch Industries. CAO supports students and faculty members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as well as other institutions by developing research-based solutions to the most pressing issues in fragile communities.
For more information about CAO, visit www.advancingopportunity.org.

For Further Information

Academia.edu:
Adi Raval
press@academia.edu
Note: Academia.edu employees are available for interviews

Center for Advancing Opportunity:
info@advancingopportunity.org
Note: Gerard Robinson is available for interviews

SOURCE Academia.edu

Related Links
https://www.academia.edu

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