As part of the UC Office of the President’s $2 million Education Innovations and Services Initiative, six faculty members from UCI social sciences have received funding to develop or refresh five online courses that expand knowledge and enrollment access within social sciences while focusing on digital inclusion.

Their winning course proposals include:

Louis DeSipio, Professor, Department of Chicano/Latino Studies and Department of Political Science
Political Science 61 / Chicano Latino Studies 64, “Introduction to Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Politics”

Christopher Lowman, Assistant Professor of Teaching, & Ian Straughn, Associate Professor of Teaching, Department of Anthropology
Anthropology 2C, “Introduction to Archaeology”

David Meyer, Professor, Department of Sociology
Sociology 174 / Political Science 156D, “Protest, Movements, and Revolutions”

Jim Weatherall, Professor and Chair, Department of Logic & Philosophy of Science
LPS 40, “The Nature of Scientific Inquiry”

Sarah Whitt, Assistant Professor, Department of Global & International Studies
INT ST 146W, “Global Indigeneity, Upper Division Writing”

Funding awards under UCOP’s initiative fall into one of four categories – courses, professional development, research projects, or infrastructure – with the social sciences projects all comprising course development or refreshes. Awarded funding supports programs that align with UC Online goals which include enhancing student and faculty teaching and learning experiences and outcomes; advancing the use of digital technology; promoting digital inclusion; and/or helping close equity gaps. Social sciences represented half of UCI’s award-winning proposals in this year’s cycle with $138,000 in funding with campus receiving $335,000 overall.