Skip to Content

College of Information and Communications

College of Information and Communications

Sponsored Awards and Grants

The Carnegie Foundation has designated the University of South Carolina as an institution of very high research activity, its highest rating.   In keeping with the university’s commitment to cutting-edge research, College of Information and Communications faculty actively seek funding opportunities to support their research initiatives.  

Sponsor: USC Excel Funding Program
Title:
Creating a Framework with Service Guidelines and Professional Toolkits for Disaster Information Services for Libraries
PI: Feili Tu-Keefner
School:
Library and Information Science

Sponsor:  USC Racial Justice and Equity Research Fund
Title: Exploring Black Public Relations Professionals’ Lived Experiences in the PR Industry
PI: Damion Waymer and Candace Edrington
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: Where We Live: Local and Place Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Underserved Rural Communities
Co-PI: Brett Robertson
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: Institute of Museum and Library Services
Title: Equitable Access for the Blind, Visually Impaired, and Print-Disabled (BVIPD) Students in Online Learning: A Study of BVIPD Services Among Southeastern Conference (SEC) Institutions
PI: Dick Kawooya and Clayton Copeland
School: Information Science

Sponsor: Institute of Museum and Library Services
Title: Identity-Based Routines in the Public Library: Structuring the Workplace to Better Support Staff with Diverse Identities
PI: Darin Freeburg
School: Information Science

Sponsor: USC Big Data Health Science Center
Title: 
Global Conversations on "Tobacco Harm Reduction" on Twitter: The Big Tobacco's Involvement and Interference with Tobacco Control Across Countries
PI: Jungmi Jun
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: USC Excel Funding
Title: Equitable Access for the Blind, Visually Impaired, and Print-Disabled (BVIPD) Students in Online Learning: A Pilot Study of BVIPD Services at the 
Co-PI: Dick Kawooya, Clayton Copeland, and Eric Robinson
School: Information Science and Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: USC Excel Funding
Title: Foster Parent Associations’ Social Media Communication and Its Impact on Foster Parents
Co-PI: Anli Xiao, Yanfeng Xu (Social Work) and Linwan Wu
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: USC Excel Funding
Title: Aware: Increasing Media Literacy and Social Emotional Learning through Micro-credentialing
Co-PI: Kenneth Vogler (Education) and Vanessa Kitzie
School: Information Science

Sponsor: AEJMC
Title: Cancer Communication Ecologies of Asian Americans in the United States
Co-PI: Jungmi Jun and Ali Zain (Ph.D. student)
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / National Weather Service
Title:  Addressing Geographical and Social Diversity in Heat-Health Messaging
Co-PI: Brett Robertson
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor:  Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Title: The Practice Model for an Equitable Workplace Transition Program (EWTP): Disability and Neurodiversity
Co-PI: Kim M. Thompson
School: Information Science  

Sponsor:  ASPIRE II: Office of the Vice President for Research
Title: Automatic and personalized identification of smoking using smartwatches
Co-PI: Jun Jungmi
School: Journalism and Mass Communications:  

Sponsor:  Center for Teaching Excellence
Title: Innovative Pedagogy Grant
PI: Jabari Evans
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor:  Center for Teaching Excellence
Title: Innovative Pedagogy Grant
PI: Mani Robinson
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: EBSCO Information Services
Title: Community Action Toolkit (CAT) in Support of Diverse Library Collections & High-Quality Educational Materials
PI:  Lucy Santos Green
School: Library and Information Science

Sponsor: American Library Association / Carnegie Whitney Grants
Title: Equity, Social Justice, and Critical Race Theory in Librarianship: A Bibliography and Toolkit
Co-PIs: Nicole Cooke, Cearra Harris
School: Library and Information Science


Sponsor: American Library Association / Carnegie Whitney Grants
Title: The Rainbow Connection; An annotated bibliography of LGBTQIA+ books and resources for children.
Co-PIs: Christine Shelek, South Carolina Center for Community Literacy
School: Library and Information Science


Sponsor: National Institute of Health
Title: Identifying Optimal Visual Narratives to Impact African American Men’s Colorectal Cancer Risk Awareness and Screening Uptake
PI:  Robert McKeever
Co-investigators: Jungmi Jun, Joon Kim, Karen Wikersham, Brett Robertson, Christopher Nolan, & Carl Ciccarelli
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning @ USC
PI: Jeffrey Williams
Title:  Immersion at the Circus, documenting the beyond the classroom experience
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society
PI: Brett Robertson
Title: Precarious Societies, Collective Solidarity: Feminist Economic Organizing of Mutual Aid Organizations and Resilience Discourses during COVID-19
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society (WFI)
Title:
The Platformization of Organizational (counter-)Discriminatory Speech on Facebook and Twitter During the Pandemic
PI: 
Yingying Chen
School:
Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor:  Social Science Research Council - Summer Institutes in Computational Social Science Research Grant
Title:
Precarious Societies, Collective Solidarity: Feminist Economic Organizing of Mutual Aid Organizations and Resilience Discourses during COVID-19
PI:
Brett Robertson
School:
Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor:  US Dept of State
Title:
Empowering Workers for Justice in Bangladesh
Co-PI: Andrea Hickerson
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: 
Actionable Sensemaking Tools for Curating and Authenticating Information in the Presence of Misinformation during Crises
Co-PI: Shannon Bowen
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor:  IMLS
Title: Designing Culturally Competent and Impactful K-12 Online Learning
Co-PI: Lucy Santos Green and Liz Hartnett (Key Personnel)
School: Information Science


Sponsor:  IMLS
Title: 
Identifying Opportunities for Retention of BIPOC Librarians Using Survival Analysis
Co-PI: 
Monica Colon-Aguirre
School: Information Science


Sponsor: Library of Congress
Title: Full STEAM (and Social Studies) Ahead with TPS Grant Training in South Carolina
Co-PI: Jenna Spiering, Liz Harnett, Christine Shelek, and Valerie Byrd Fort
School: Information Science


Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Title: Connecting Behavioral Science to COVID-19 Vaccine Demand (CBS-CVD) Network (PRC Supplement)
Co-I: Brooke McKeever
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: AEJMC Collaborative Scholar Grant
Title: Media Advocacy and the Health Belief Model in the Context of COVID-19: A Mixed Methods Study
Co-PI:  Brooke McKeever and Carl Ciccarelli
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: Collaborative Research: SaTC: TTP: Small: DeFake: Deploying a Tool for Robust Deepfake Detection
PI: Andrea Hickerson
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor:  IMLS
Title:
Laura Bush 21stCentury Librarian Program
PI:
Nicole Cooke, working with the American Library Association
School:
Information Science


Sponsor: Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning
Title: Beyond the Classroom Engagement Program Grant for Student Participation
PI: Jeff Williams
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: Office of the Vice President for Research ASPIRE Program
Title: Biometric Responses and Health Outcomes of Youth Exposure to Modified Exposure Claims for Novel Tobacco Products with FDA Authorization Cues
PI: Dr. Jungmi Jun; Co-PI: Dr. Taylor Wen
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: Office of the Vice President for Research ASPIRE Program
Title: LGBT Health Surveillance via Mining Social Media Big Data
PI: Dr. Amir Karami
School: Information Science


Sponsor: Office of the Vice President for Research ASPIRE Program
Title: Understand the Impacts of Social Density and Environmental Uncertainty on Consumers’ Subjective Well-being
PI: Dr. Linwan Wu
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: The Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication
Title: 
Exploring the Impact of Corporate Social Advocacy Campaigns on Collective Action: A Two-Part Study of Identity 
PI:
Anli Xiao
School: 
Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: The American Academy of Advertising Research Fellowship
Title: Disclosing the involvement of Artificial Intelligence in advertising to consumers
PIs: Dr. Linwan Wu and Dr. Taylor Wen
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: The Knight Foundation
Title: Development of a Deep Fake Detection Tool for Journalists
Co-PI: Dr. Andrea Hickerson
School:  Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: American University
Title:  Right to Research Network: Supporting Africa's Copyright Reform Agenda at World Intellectual Property Organization
PI: Dick Kawooya
School: Information Science


Sponsor:  Library of Congress
Title:  Teaching with Primary Sources
PI:  Dr. Karen Gavigan
School: Information Science


Sponsor: Institute of Museum and Library Services
Title: 
Developing Training for and Establishing Partnerships between Community Health Workers and Medical Librarians for LGBTQIA+ Health Promotion
PI:
Vanessa Kitzie
School:
Information Science


Sponsor: SC Humanities/NEH
Title: 
The Augusta Baker Lecture Series
PI: 
Dr. Nicole Cooke
School: 
Information Science


Sponsor: USC Office of the Vice President for Research
Title: 
Asian Americans’ Experience with COVID-19 Related Discrimination and Communicative Coping Strategies
PI: 
 
Jungmi Jun
School: 
Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: USC Office of the Vice President for Research
Title: 
Explore Diseases and Chemicals in COVID-19 Scholarly Articles with Data Science Techniques
PI:
 Amir Karami
School: 
Information Science


Sponsor: USC Office of the Vice President for Research
Title: 
Detecting and investigating COVID-19 misleading information on YouTube
PI: 
Ehsan Mohammadi
Co-PI: Dr. Brooke McKeever and Dr. Robert McKeever
School: Information Science and Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: USC Office of the Vice President for Research
Title: The Virtual Piranesi
PI: 
Jason Porter
School: 
Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor IMLS
Title:  Educational Quality through Instructional Partnerships (EQuIP): Assessing the Efficacy of Collaboratively Implemented Guided Inquiry Design on K-12 Student Learning
PI: 
 Dr. Lucy Santos Green
School: Information Science


Sponsor Library of Congress
Title:  Teaching with Primary Sources
PI:  Dr. Karen Gavigan
School: Information Science


Sponsor: Penn State
Title:  Construction and Validation of New Scales of Advocacy and Activism
PI:  Dr. Brooke McKeever
School:  Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: USC - Aspire
Title:  
Understand the Role of Emotions in Disaster Communication: A Computational Analysis
PI
 Dr. Jing Wen
Co-PI: Dr. Amir Karami
School:  Information Science


Sponsor Penn State
Title:  Moment of Truth: Understanding Corporate Rumors and the Psychology of Rumor Spread on Environmental Issues via Social Media
PI:  Dr. Holly Overton
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor American Library Association
Title:  Social Justice in Young American Graphic Novels - a Global Perspective
PI:  Dr. Karen Gavigan
School:  Information Science

Sponsor: USC Office of The Provost
Title: Big Data Health Science Center (BDHSC)
Co-I: Dr. Amir Karmi
School: Information Science


Sponsor: Institute of Museum and Library Services
Title: Examining Public Library Service to LGBTQ Communities for Health-related Information
PI: Dr. Vanessa Kitzie
School: Information Science
Website»


Sponsor: National Endowment for the Humanities
Title: Evolution in Digital Discourse: Toward a Computational Tool for Identifying Patterns of Language Change in Social Media
PI: Dr. S. Mo Jang
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: Library of Congress
Title
: Teaching with Primary Sources
PI: Dr. Karen Gavigan
School: Information Science

Website»


Sponsors: Jacqueline M. Albers Guest Scholar in Children’s Literature Fellowship and the Southeastern Conference Visiting Faculty Travel Grant
Title
: Visualizing Change through Multicultural and Social Justice Graphic Novels in the U.S. and Australia.
PI: Dr. Karen Gavigan
School: Information Science


Sponsor: The Pennsylvania State University  - Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication
Title: Understanding Native Communication of Corporate Social Responsibility 
PIs: Dr. Linwan Wu
Co-PI: Dr. Holly Overton
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: The Pennsylvania State University  - Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication
TitleMoment of Truth: Understanding Corporate Rumors and the Psychology of Rumor Spread on Environmental Issues via Social Media 
PI: Dr. Holly Overton
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: Institute of Museum and Library Services
Title: META 2: Furthering Our Understanding of the Economic Value of Public Library Services
Lead PI: Dr. Jennifer Arns
Co-PI: Dr. Clayton Copeland
School: Information Science


Sponsor: CDC
Title: USC PRC Center and Core Research Project: National Implementation Study of the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) Program 
PI: Dr. Brooke McKeever
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: The Arthur W. Page Center at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University
Title: The Effects of Self-Construal on Green CSR Perspectives in the U.S. and India: The Moderating Roles of Environmental Consciousness
Lead PI: Nandini Bhalla, doctoral candidate
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


Sponsor: USC Office of the Vice President for Research
Title: Knowledge Discovery in Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Experiences
Lead PI: Dr. Amir Karami, assistant professor
School: Information Science


SponsorCenter for Teaching Excellence
Title: Innovating and integrating two courses: Photovisual Communication III and Graphics for Visual Communication
Co PIs: Dr. Sabrina Habib and Dr. Tara Mortensen
School: Journalism and Mass Communications


SponsorCenter for Teaching Excellence
Title: Global Health Initiative Course Development Grant for a new course: Communicating, Science, Health & the Environment
Lead PI: Dr. Brooke McKeever
School: Journalism and Mass Communications

Sponsor: Office of the Vice President for Research ASPIRE Program
Title: Enhancing Situational Awareness by Mining Big Social Media Data in Near-real Time for Disaster Management: A CyberGIS Approach
Co-PI: Dr. Amir Karmi
School: Information Science


Sponsor: USC Office of The Provost
Title: Computational Analysis of the US 2016 Presidential Election in Social Media
PI: Dr. Amir Karmi
School: Information Science

Sponsor: Library of Congress
Title: Teaching with Primary Sources
PI: Dr. Karen Gavigan
School: Information Science
Website »


Sponsor: Office of the Vice President for Research ASPIRE Program
Title: Functional wellness among women living with HIV in South Carolina
Co-PI: Dr. Amir Karmi
School: Information Science 


Sponsor: Office of the Vice President for Research ASPIRE Program
Title: Medical Case Reports Analytics (MCRA) in Neurology
PI: Dr. Amir Karmi
School: Information Science

CIC Grant

The College of Information and Communications is committed to supporting collaborative research and creative scholarship across the college and with other units on campus. 


Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

©