Institute for Racial Justice (IRJ)
Institute for Racial Justice
The Institute for Racial Justice (IRJ) at Loyola University Chicago is a research-to-action infrastructure built on a simple conviction: data without application leaves inequity intact. IRJ connects community knowledge, rigorous scholarship, and decision-making environments to advance racial equity, ensuring findings reach the people and systems positioned to act. Through policy analysis, community-engaged research, and cross-sector partnerships, IRJ operates as an ecosystem builder at the intersection of the university and the city.
What does it take to move from research to real change in a neighborhood?
In this episode, Lauren Burdette, Senior Advisor at the Institute for Racial Justice, leads a candid cross-sector conversation about tax increment financing, affordable housing, and equitable development in South Chicago. She's joined by Angela Hurlock of Claretian Associates, Rob McGhee of Fifth Third Bank, Juan Sebastian Arias of Elevated Chicago, and Dr. Malik Henfield, Founding Dean of the IRJ.
Together, they dig into what becomes possible when universities, community organizations, financial institutions, and citywide partners stop operating in silos and start building something together — and what courageous leadership actually looks like when you're trying to do development differently.
irj in action
Our Mission
We are the interdisciplinary hub for racial justice work across Loyola University Chicago and beyond. We build deep relationships, accelerate transformational research and education, and create a collective impact toward racial justice and equity.
Our Work
We’re fighting for racial justice on multiple, interconnected fronts — through academic research, educational programs and community partnerships. We’re addressing health disparities, economic inequality, environmental justice, and more.
Our People
We bring together faculty and students from across Loyola and affiliated scholars and community leaders. Meet the people making change happen.
Testimonials
"IRJ is a work environment unlike any other I have been in; the IRJ team manages to work hard and be incredibly productive while at the same time creating community, prioritizing reflection, and having fun. I am so grateful for my wonderful colleagues." Meghna Chandra, PhD IRJ Postdoctoral Fellow
Get Involved
As a Loyola student, you’ll have ample opportunity to join IRJ’s work through education and research. These include but are not limited to:
- Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowships.
- Graduate Research Fellowships.
- Seed grants for student projects.
- Undergraduate and graduate student worker positions.
- Internships with community organizations advancing racial justice.
- Applied research experience on real-world projects.
Launch your career as an academic who drives structural change with us. We’re committed to building pathways for scholars who want to advance intersectional, interdisciplinary research centered on racial justice in academia and applied to the real world. We’ve launched a Postdoctoral Fellows Initiative and are currently recruiting our first cohort.
We’re seeking three scholars:
- An economic justice postdoctoral fellow
- An educational justice postdoctoral fellow
- An environmental justice postdoctoral fellow
The two-year fellowships provide opportunities for research, giving and receiving mentoring and building community across disciplines. You will have a primary appointment in IRJ with the opportunity to secure courtesy appointments across Loyola, as well as private and not-for-profit organizations.
We invite faculty members from Loyola and beyond to bring your transformational work to IRJ. If your scholarship focuses on dismantling racism and establishing equity, this is the place to do it. We offer robust grant-writing support and professional development, and our wealth of deep partnerships ensures your work will be community-informed and actionable.
We seek to collaborate with faculty members to deliver interdisciplinary professional development programming for those who want to serve organizations hungry for technical assistance and other faculty expertise.
We want to build mutually beneficial partnerships with private and not-for-profit organizations — to learn from one another and multiply our collective impact. We value our relationships greatly and ensure we commit the time and effort to understand each other. We'll rely on you to help us understand how Loyola and IRJ can add value. In turn, you'll inform our research and education activities with ideas that can only come from your knowledge and experience.