Social Science Research Institute

The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) of Farmingdale State College encourages and implements multidisciplinary social science research to benefit the residents and organizations of Long Island, and, more broadly, the state, the nation, and the world.  The Institute comprises three centers: The Center for Social Justice, The Center for Civic Engagement and Service, and The Center for Information in the Public Interest. The Social Science Research Institute promotes excellence guided by ethics in fostering scientific and social advances. Altruism and civic engagement together serve as both the means to human success and the goal of cultural and technological progress. The SSRI is committed to social justice and community advocacy.

Under the leadership of its Director, Dr. Miriam K. Deitsch, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, the SSRI aims to foster social justice and equality in the region through community involvement and individual empowerment and to inspire students to increase their community involvement and maintain a lifelong commitment to social equity and justice.  Because students learn best at the intersection of the university and community perspective, the Institute supports a variety of programs promoting student service and education through community involvement and academic research.

The Institute has established the following goals:

• To promote respect for diversity and multiculturalism among students in all four schools of the college, ensuring that FSC continues to enhance its culture of equality.
• To support the goals of the State University of New York that includes equal access to all in health and educational services and opportunities.
• To support research on the achievement of equality, social justice, and equal access regardless of race, ethnicity, class, age, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.
• To ensure that students gain the ability to analyze information and recognize the difference between objective facts and didactic opinion.
• To foster social justice and equality in the region through community involvement and individual empowerment.
• To inspire students to increase their community involvement and maintain a lifelong commitment to social equity and justice.