The Collaboratory Against Hate: Research and Action Center welcomes researchers and clinicians from Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh to participate in a unique opportunity to impede the socially destructive process of extremist hate and enhance our universities’ multipronged efforts against structural racism.

The inspiration for this Collaboratory originated from a long-standing relationship between Carnegie Mellon President Emeritus and University Professor Jared Cohon, and the University of Pittsburgh’s Chancellor Emeritus and Chair of Pitt’s Institute of Politics Mark Nordenberg. While serving together on a community recovery group following the 2018 shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, the deadliest anti-Semitic act in U.S. history, they first envisioned an initial framework for a collaboration between CMU and Pitt to combat hate. The Collaboratory reflects their belief that synergizing the expertise of researchers and clinicians at Pitt and CMU provides a unique opportunity to intervene in extremist hate and its divisive, and sometimes violent, outcomes. We are pleased to serve as its inaugural Co-Directors and welcome our colleagues across CMU and Pitt to join us.

The Collaboratory Against Hate aspires to develop and support innovative multidisciplinary and cross-university research aimed at understanding how extremist hate is generated, how it circulates in online and real-life spaces, and how it polarizes society and provokes harmful and illegal acts, especially toward communities of color and other minoritized groups. Many areas of study, including computer science, cybersecurity, law, social sciences, addiction, healthcare, and child development are relevant to this effort.

The Collaboratory is also a translational research center that aspires to partner with multiple stakeholders - including victimized communities, technology companies, mental health care professionals, teachers, advocacy groups, law enforcement, public officials, and policymakers - to design effective and legally defensible interventions to inhibit every stage in the creation of extremist hate and to minimize its destructive consequences. We aim to develop multi-scale intervention tools that can be employed by persons, companies, groups, and institutions with varying needs and agendas.

Our first steps will be to host an information session (March 30, 12-1 pm) to further explain the goals of the Collaboratory, initiate a seminar series with top scholars, practitioners, and community advocates; and host a “Virtual Lightning Round” to share participants’ current and possible future work in this area (April 9, 12-2 pm). We are also beginning to raise funds for the Collaboratory and expect to solicit seed funding proposals for collaborative research soon.

We are reaching out today to identify faculty, postdocs, and students at CMU and Pitt who are interested in research and/or the development of stakeholder partnerships and intervention tools that will advance the goals of the Collaboratory.

If you would like more information about the Collaboratory, or are interested in becoming involved in its activities, please complete this brief survey below by March 24, 2021.

Lorrie Cranor and Kathy Blee, Co-Directors
Collaboratory Against Hate: Research and Action Center