PhD Candidate Noor Toraif (PhD’23) Awarded Prestigious Ford Foundation Fellowship
Noor Toraif (PhD’23) has received one of the first Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowships awarded to a social work scholar. The grant supports students in their final year of work towards their dissertation. While students from social work and other disciplines have traditionally not been eligible for the award, Prof. Dan Miller, director of the BUSSW PhD Program explains, “We were able to get approval for Noor to apply after clarifying that our PhD program requires intensive and rigorous research training. My hope is that this important accomplishment may also signal increased recognition of the value of social work research for addressing critical social issues.”
Using developmental and socio-legal theories, personal interviews, and administrative data, Toraif studies Black, Indigenous, and Youth of Color’s (BIYOC) pathways into the juvenile legal system and how they interact with legal, criminal, and welfare systems. Her research will inform better social policies. “In the midst of mass incarceration and the Black Lives Matter Movement, Noor’s scholarship represents an opportunity to examine the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and youth of color involved in multiple state agencies,” says Toraif’s mentor, BUSSW Prof. Astraea Augsberger. “As access to this population is largely denied by state agencies and institutional review boards, this research will center the voices of those most impacted by institutional structures and practices in a way that has not been done previously.”
The Ford Foundation Fellowship is given to 38 candidates by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Students are chosen based on their academic achievements, commitment to research, and potential as scholars. Winners are given a year stipend of $28,000, an invitation to the Conference of Ford Fellows to network and receive feedback on their work, and access to a network of former Ford Fellows who lend their expertise and support to current members.