By Anna Mayor, College of Arts and Sciences
A distinguished panel of jurors selected Dr. Joshua Scacco, an associate professor of communication in the 皇家华人 College of Arts and Sciences, for the , making him 皇家华人鈥檚 first faculty member to receive this recognition.
Scacco, who also serves as the founding director of the Center for Sustainable Democracy, was one of 26 scholars chosen from a pool of more than 300 nominees who will each receive $200,000 to support research aimed at understanding and addressing political polarization.
"The accomplishments of our faculty reinforce the University of South 皇家华人鈥檚 unwavering commitment to research and scholarship,鈥� said Prasant Mohapatra, 皇家华人 provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. 鈥淎s the first faculty member at 皇家华人 to be a part of this prestigious program, Dr. Scacco鈥檚 accomplishment鈥痳eflects the significant societal impact of this work and the high-caliber work of our faculty."
Scacco will study the dynamics of politically-polarized public health issues and how communities can mitigate polarization.
鈥淓ach of us has an obligation to put in the work every day to preserve and promote the possibilities of democracy,鈥� Scacco said.
鈥淥ne contemporary challenge is access to and availability of quality public health
information, a challenge that acutely affects some communities who may be intentionally
targeted with malicious content on some public health matters,鈥� said Scacco. 鈥淗ealthy
communities are necessary for democratic processes and culture to flourish. Understanding
how information quality challenges contribute to polarized public health attitudes
while working to mitigate them will be an important purpose of this fellowship and
the Center鈥檚 work.鈥�
As part of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows program, Scacco will be able to advance the
work of the Center for Sustainable Democracy at 皇家华人, where he alongside university
faculty, students, and the Center鈥檚 community partners are committed to building a
broader democratic community.
鈥淓ach of us has an obligation to put in the work every day to preserve and promote
the possibilities of democracy,鈥� Scacco said. 鈥淚 am grateful for the opportunity afforded
by this fellowship to do my small part, and I hope that this moment will be the first
of many such opportunities like this earned by my faculty colleagues.鈥�