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Mission Statement

The Center for Institutional and Social Change mission is to advance just and equitable legal and social institutions by anchoring systems change in the full participation of those directly impacted by racism and mass incarceration.

Our Featured Projects & Programs

 

The Paralegal Pathways Initiative (PPI) seeks to amplify the talents and perspectives of those who have directly experienced incarceration in an effort to create economic opportunity for our participants, advance racial equity in the legal field, build knowledge of the impacts of the criminal legal system among current and future legal professionals, and expose the legal profession to an untapped wealth of legal experience and talent. Click here to learn more about this groundbreaking program.

Community Centered Participatory Justice (CCPJ) engages the leadership of formerly-incarcerated individuals in anchoring people-centered systems’ change responses to the impact of mass incarceration and structural racism on the social and economic infrastructure of marginalized communities. Click here to learn more about this innovative program.

This course and practicum, the first of its kind, will enable participants to blend artistry, law, policy, and community engagement, and in this way to produce narratives with powerful impact in policy spaces where change can happen. The course will equip law students to tell powerful stories--themselves and in collaboration with artists and community members--and use legal knowledge and skills to amplify artists’ and community activists’ impact in venues where laws are made and power is exercised. The workshop will also build artists’ capacity to merge high quality, high impact, rigorous artistry with community narratives and research & high level policy activists. In the process all the participants will work with community members to amplify the power of their stories through artistry informed by legal and policy research. With criminal justice and education as the policy focal point, the workshop will enable participants to craft and enact compelling stories about justice and injustice in “theaters for change” where they can shift hearts and minds of thought leaders and policy makers. Click here to learn more about the course.

Events

March
7
Fri

Past Event

What Might Be Panel & Discussion

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Event time is displayed in your time zone.
https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/s/93217138504?pwd=C8XmpeaHVnHJ9HEe8CbiTHRGsJ3XXl.1

On Friday, March 7, 2025, Columbia Law School will host a panel discussion and reception to celebrate the launch of What Might Be: Confronting Racism to Transform Our Institutions, the latest book by Professor Susan Sturm, George M. Jaffin…

Sept
30
Mon

Past Event

Designing, Implementing, and Refining Evaluation Rubrics

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
America/New_York
Online

Rubrics are an evidence-based tool for bringing structure, clarity, and fairness to evaluations for admissions, hiring, grading, fellowship and awards. Like all tools, though, how they are designed and put to use matters much for the outcomes that can be expected. As part of developing equity-minded selection systems, this workshop offers an opportunity to delve into best practices for…

Dec
1
Tue

Past Event

Reimagining Justice through Abolition

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
America/New_York
Online Event Zoom

Join faculty, advocates, and alumni for a discussion exploring avenues for students to collaborate on innovative approaches to strengthening communities, practicing anti-racism, and reimagining the justice system. 

We will kick off the session with a discussion about the groundbreaking …

Featured Publications

Linked Fate: Justice and the Criminal Legal System During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Susan Sturm
Natalie Behr
Zachary D. Hardwick
Hyun Kim
Faiz Pirani

Leading with Conviction: The Transformative Role of Formerly Incarcerated Leaders in Reducing Mass Incarceration

Susan P. Sturm
Haran Tae

Full Participation: Building the Architecture for Diversity and Public Engagement in Higher Education

Susan Sturm
Tim Eatman
John Saltmarsh
Adam Bush