Frequently Asked Questions

Founded in 2019, The Equity Center grows out of many years of social justice advocacy in Charlottesville and the surrounding region, as well as the groundbreaking work of organizations and individuals who have worked tirelessly to call on our University to redress racism in the local community.

Research proves that racial and economic equality gaps are particularly wide in university communities. The University of Virginia’s hometown of Charlottesville is no exception, stemming from a long history of racial injustices perpetrated by the University and the surrounding community.

The Equity Center mobilizes UVA resources to address the region's systemic racial and socioeconomic inequities. It focuses on community-engaged scholarship, equitable analysis, and resource knitting, working with local organizations to create mutually beneficial partnerships and support community-driven projects. 

The Equity Center’s Focus Areas are guided by what we heard during our community listening sessions held in August and May 2018 and by the 3000+ responses from community members to the survey the UVA – Community Working Group completed in March 2019.

These focus areas are accessible data, art, business and finance, climate justice, design, food security, health care, housing, planning, and public spaces, immigration, jobs and wages, law enforcement, power differential and white-washed history, respectful research, transportation, and youth, schools, and child care. These initiatives aim to address various aspects of social justice and equity in the community.

The Equity Center serves the region surrounding UVA, identified as the Blue Ridge Health District (BRHD), which includes Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Green County, Fluvanna County, Nelson County, and Louisa County.  

Yes, The Equity Center has made progress in affordable housing, job creation, and youth programs. It supports the development of affordable housing units, increases local job opportunities, and provides educational and career support to students through programs like Starr Hill Pathways.

The Equity Center supports real-world solutions by working on affordable housing initiatives and job creation programs. It collaborates with local organizations and UVA to develop affordable housing units and increase employment opportunities for disadvantaged community residents.

The Equity Center advances racial and economic equity by conducting research, advocacy, and community engagement. It addresses systemic inequities and promotes equity through its various initiatives and partnerships with local organizations and stakeholders.

The collaborative and multi-perspective orientation of community-engaged scholarship shifts the goals of research from simply producing “new knowledge” to a focus on mutually beneficial, action-oriented research for positive change. 

Community-engaged scholarship achieves a shift through the rebalancing of power dynamics regarding what knowledge is considered valuable, through the creation of new tools for data-rich advocacy, and through the building of capacity within the university and lay communities. Our contribution to that effort will be to shift the paradigm for scholars to think differently about our own role in creating and using scientific knowledge to solve social problems. The collaborative and multi-perspective orientation of community-engaged scholarship shifts the goals of research from simply producing “new knowledge” to a focus on mutually beneficial, action-oriented research for positive change.

The work of The Equity Center may influence public policy. However, the primary focus is on democratic access to data, analysis, and community recommendations and ensuring broad access to knowledge for the entire community. By providing data, analysis, and community-driven recommendations, The Equity Center empowers everyone, not just policymakers, to engage with the information. This approach ensures that the data is accessible to all, aligning with the principle of democratization of information. While local leaders and policymakers may use this data to inform their decisions, the intention is for the information to serve the entire community, promoting informed public discourse.

Equitable Analysis centers on community-driven partnerships to provide advocates and civic and private-sector leaders with data and metrics, contextualized analysis, interactive maps and data visualizations, and narrative storytelling as a resource in pursuit of equity throughout the region. 

Projects within the initiative are governed by civic and community-based leaders and rely on publicly available and community-generated data to generate insights on the various forms of racial and socioeconomic inequity in the region with an eye toward institutional accountability. 

The Inclusive Communities Profiles, formerly the Charlottesville Regional Equity Atlas provides data-driven reports and dashboards to document community well-being and social justice progress. It aims to inform collective action by offering insights on climate equity, educational outcomes, and other metrics to hold decision-makers accountable.

Resource Knitting refers to The Equity Center’s efforts to create mutually beneficial partnerships between local organizations, the Commonwealth, and UVA. This approach helps connect and support various community initiatives, fostering collaboration and resource sharing.

The Equity Center ensures transparency in its budget and activities by demonstrating the impact of its initiatives on the community. It provides detailed reports and evaluations to justify its expenditures and resource allocation, showing how its work aligns with the university’s mission and community needs.

The Equity Center’s deep commitment to youth begins with Youth Power, a series of programs with two overarching aims: 

1. Supporting young people as change agents in their communities
2. Addressing long-standing racial and economic educational inequities.

SHP collects data on students’ career interests, educational aspirations, socio-emotional learning, household income, race, ethnicity, grades, academic achievement, self-efficacy, growth mindset, educational expectations, and wellness. This data is gathered through surveys, observations, and interviews during summer camps and school-year programming.  | Read more on the data we collect from SHP Scholars and caregivers here.

Starr Hill Pathways (SHP) helps students develop agency, build aspirations, and grow a supportive community. The program offers mentoring, tutoring, career exploration, and wellness surveys, positively impacting students’ academic resilience, growth mindset, and overall well-being. The SHP and Equitable Analysis teams collaborate to provide annual reports that evaluate the program’s impact.