Rice University’s HERE Project has a new name and a new home

CERCL FOUNDING DIRECTOR ANTHONY PINN

Formerly known as Houston Enriches Rice Education, the HERE Project has become the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL) and is now a part of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

CERCL is a curricular and research initiative that uses innovative research, engaged pedagogy and other approaches to promote and advance creative models and practices of leadership benefiting new generations of leaders, said founding director Anthony Pinn.

“CERCL is committed to engaging with, learning from and contributing to the city of Houston, and our new relationship with the Kinder Institute is a perfect way to fulfill this mission,” said Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities.

Michael Emerson, co-director of the Kinder Institute, agreed: “CERCL will directly contribute to the Kinder Institute’s mission to conduct urban research, sponsor educational programs and engage in public outreach.”

CERCL sponsors a number of initiatives, including a distinguished visiting lecturer program, a high school outreach program, a scholars-in residence-program and a speaker series. CERCL is also a co-sponsor of the Hip Hop Archival Network, the leading depository of information for scholars to study hip-hop culture. An example of its work was a recent two-day conference on hip-hop culture in Houston. All outreach efforts are intended to build intellectual infrastructure by creating a model for integrated learning and collaborative research.

“The Kinder Institute’s partnership with CERCL represents an important expansion in the institute’s mission to foster more humane, sustainable cities,” Emerson said. “It will do so by focusing on the development of future urban leaders from area high schools, and by creating a network of scholars from other urban areas around the world, working on common issues facing cities.”

For more information on CERCL, visit http://cercl.rice.edu/. For more information on the Kinder Institute, visit http://kinder.rice.edu.