The RISE UPP Alliance Social Science Research Team (SSRT) is led by Dr. Dawn Culpepper (University of Maryland) and Dr. Leslie D. Gonzales (University of Arizona). The team provides research-informed guidance, advice, and resources to the RISE-UPP Alliance and conducts research on organizational change in the STEM academic workplace. 

The SSRT's multi-pronged research agenda leverages the unique, multi-system focus of the RISE-UPP program to interrogate readiness within different contexts for diversification (e.g., increasing the number of racially minoritized STEM faculty) and transformation (e.g., changing cultural features to ensure inclusion, retention, and ultimately, equity). The team includes Jesenia Rosales (doctoral candidate, Michigan State University) and Baili Park (master's student, University of Maryland).

The team has presented at multiple RISE-UPP meetings and events, at academic conferences, and is actively preparing and developing resources and peer-reviewed journal articles. Recent work is listed below.