The Gambrell Faculty Fellowship program grew out of the Charlotte Opportunity Insights Partnership, also funded by The Gambrell Foundation. A key objective of the partnership is to incorporate, facilitate, and build local research capacity to address issues related to economic mobility in Charlotte. The Gambrell Faculty Fellowship Program was developed in 2018 to contribute to this objective by facilitating research on economic mobility and ensuring that our community can access that work. The Gambrell Foundation awarded subsequent grants to the Charlotte Urban Institute in 2019 and 2023 to extend and continue to build the fellowship program.
Each year, the Charlotte Urban Institute opens applications to full-time faculty members with titles of assistant professor or higher and whose job description includes professional expectations for research. Selected Faculty Fellows receive competitive grants up to $18,000 for short-term, faculty-facilitated research projects related to economic mobility.
Since 2019, the Gambrell Faculty Fellowship has named 49 Faculty Fellows and supported 30 research projects that represent seven University colleges (Arts + Architecture, Business, Computing & Informatics, Education, Engineering, Health & Human Services, Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences) and 23 academic disciplines. Gambrell Fellowships have led to community based tools, ongoing collaborations, competitive federal grants, and peer reviewed publications.
“With a fellowship of 49 strong, we are excited to once again support our faculty and examine economic mobility in our community, providing actionable information for our community and region,” said Dr. Lori Thomas, executive director of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the Charlotte Regional Data Trust. “We are grateful to The Gambrell Foundation for funding community engaged research.”
In addition to conducting and publishing research, Gambrell Faculty Fellows participate in conversations about the role of housing, transportation, racial discrimination and more on economic mobility in Charlotte. Through this program, Fellows also learn to translate and disseminate research findings to relevant audiences, including the communities they study. Both the professional development and intentional discussions serve as a forum to engage the community and highlight fellows’ work.
View work, highlights, and conversations with faculty fellows over the years below.
