time to read:
With all the recent cuts and chaos at federal research funding agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)–beyond the very real existential threat these cuts pose to myself, my friends and colleagues, and American science and research–it got me thinking about the idea of “scholarship” and how essential new forms of research scholarship are in different contexts.
My good friends and colleagues Kyla McMullen and Jeremy Waisome are co-creators and co-hosts of the Modern Figures podcast (now in its 6th season!). The podcast highlights Black women in computing today. The title references the Hidden Figures book and movie that focused on the true stories of the Black women who did calculations by hand that enabled the satellite launches of the 1960s. If you haven’t listened to the podcast, I highly recommend it!
This podcast was originated under a grant from the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), and were also supported in part by NSF. Luckily, Kyla and Jeremy and the team have already bumped this podcast outside the university to a separate non-profit organization, to ensure their mission could continue. Ever the scientists, Kyla and Jeremy want to dig deeper, to examine the data contained within those podcast conversations and how they might point to evidence-based strategies for retaining Black women in computing, as well as convening researchers in this space to develop a long-term vision for the field.
A key award to make these follow-up analyses possible was one that was terminated.
It wasn’t a surprise. After this administration’s goals became clear, it was just a matter of time. And sure, many other grants that were less obviously “woke” were also terminated. But it is still a crushing blow to support for the diverse types of scholarship that are necessary to reach diverse audiences in today’s world.
The idea of “scholarship” historically referred to the three pillars of academia:
- teaching
- research
- service
What did you teach? How many students? Did you create new course content? What were your class evaluations? How many proposals did you submit? How many were funded? How much have you spent on each and in what ways? How many papers did you publish? How many students are you advising? Graduating? Are your students first-authors enough? Are the venues high-quality enough? Are you, your papers, or your students receiving any awards? What committees are you serving on in your department? Your university? Your research community? What leadership roles are you taking on? What are your national and international collaborations in these areas?
While I would not argue that these (rather far-reaching) criteria don’t matter, I would argue that scholarship in 2025 needs to be broadened–not only to enable reaching new audiences, but also to work toward more transparent translational outcomes of federally-funded research. New forms of scholarship beyond publishing in journals and conferences, such as podcasts and TikToks, for example, can speed up the adoption of emerging research-backed best practices across domains.
Beyond reaching new audiences with research results, we also need to reach new audiences to participate in research. NSF has had “broadening participation” as a core mission since its inception (i.e., “advance the national prosperity”). This concept does nothing but ensure that the results of its funded science and outreach can benefit all members of society, because all are represented.
Why New Forms of Research Scholarship Matter
With the fact that the grant terminations have disproportionately affected scientists from underrepresented groups, I think it should be clear why we cannot abandon the community value of broadening participation… but just in case:
It’s because science done only by white men, serves only white men.
Do I have to still say this in 2025? Well, I guess we will keep having to say this for the foreseeable future…
Beyond podcasts, TikToks, and YouTube channels… What are some other types of radical scholarship you can think of? Let me know in the comments.
If you find yourself in need of a coach to help you brainstorm ideas for new and cutting-edge scholarship that will get respect in your community, contact me to chat about my services 🙂
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