UMass Boston

Welcome to the Restorative Justice Commission

The Restorative Justice Commission (RJC) at UMass Boston is committed to fostering a campus climate that prioritizes racial and social justice, equity, and the principles of restorative justice. We aim to contribute to the development and implementation of strategies that promote inclusivity, accountability, and community building within our institution.

What is Restorative Justice?

Restorative Justice is both a response and a process to recognize and strategically address and repair harm caused by institutional and/or structural policies, practices, and/or cultural norms, and/or differential power dynamics.

The harm may be at an individual or collective level, may be felt or perceived as having "real, meaningful impact," and it may be unintentional. Harm is a violation of the expectations for trusting relationships, including power relation violations. The violation can range from personal to professional to community relations.

Restorative justice, therefore, seeks to address the root causes of the harm and to promote and foster a climate for healing, racial and social justice, and equity.

Restorative Justice at UMass Boston

At UMass Boston, restorative justice is intentionally a proactive and inclusive approach, which involves three interconnected core elements:

  1. Encounter, with a focus on recognizing and acknowledging the harm.
  2. Repair, with a focus on recommending and acting to address and mend the harm.
  3. Transform, with a focus on supporting and fostering systemic change and promoting social justice by nurturing a transformed climate via new policies, practices, and/or cultural norms.

Adapted by Professor Cuff Ferguson

Mission Statement

The purpose of the Restorative Justice Commission is to assist the institution with assessing campus climate, contributing to the development of a strategic plan, recommending strategies for strategic plan implementation, and advising decision-makers on matters of policy and procedure with a lens of racial and social justice, equity, and honoring restorative justice principles and philosophies.

 

RJC Sub-Committees

The RJC operates through various sub-committees, each focusing on critical aspects of our mission:

  • Proposals Committee
  • Campus and Community Engagement
  • Policies and Practices
  • Program Training and Development

 

Membership Responsibilities & Duties

RJC members are committed to actively participating in the advancement of restorative justice efforts on campus. Their responsibilities and duties include:

  • Attendance at monthly RJC meetings and biweekly subcommittee meetings
  • Engagement in proposal creation and relationship building within the campus community
  • Enhancing restorative justice efforts and outcomes on campus to assist the university in becoming a leading anti-racist and health promoting institution.
  • Evaluating the racial climate and recommending improvements
  • Be knowledgeable about current university and department policies, programs, training, curricular interventions, and institutional practices, and offer recommendations for enhancement.
  • Serving as liaisons between the RJC and the broader University community
  • Assisting with preparing annual reports for the Chancellor and the campus community on RJC activities

Restorative Justice Commissioners

  • Calvin Hill
  • Michael Johnson
  • Rosalyn Negron
  • Paul Watanabe
  • Anneta Argyres
  • Carroy Ferguson
  • Tony Vandermeer
  • Ayden B. Pol
  • Cristian M. Orellana
  • Deborah C. Dauda
  • Jacqueline B. Lageson
  • Rajini Srikanth
  • Jariza Rodriguez
  • Patricia T Naya
  • Samantha E Erskine
  • Sara Hoang
  • Suha Ballout
  • Joseph N. Cooper

Funded Transformative Equity Grant 2025-2026

Part II: Leadership for Our Times: Recognizing the Harm and Strategizing Responses to Trump Administration Orders, Laws, and Directives

Lead: Paul Watanabe

Funding Provided: $15,000

Making the Invisible Visible: Student-Led Participatory Research on Hidden Barriers at UMB

Lead: Patricia Naya

Funding Provided: $8,000

Immigrant Student Program: Undocu week

Lead: Anindita Sengupta

Funding Provided: $8,000

 

Students and Faculty Visit Contested Spaces in Boston with Local Muralists to Discuss Public Art, Racial Memory, and Restorative Justice

Lead: Bayyinah Jeffries (Cosponsored by Africana Studies & Latino Studies)

Funding Provided: $6,735

 

Disrupting Ableism: Building a Restorative Culture of Accessibility at UMass Boston

Lead: Ren Lovegood

Funding Provided: $15,000

 

Act It Out: Making UMB Classrooms Equitable, Inclusive, and Participatory Learning Spaces

Lead: Karime Parodi Ambel

Funding Provided: $15,000

Restorative Justice Through Immigration Advocacy and Organizing

Lead: Eden Elfathy

Funding Provided: $10,000

Parenting Justice: A Restorative Equity Initiative for Student Parents at UMass Boston

Lead: Charlotte Nnambi

Funding Provided: $14,900

Justice From the Soil: The Ogoni 9 and the Global Fight for Ecological Restoration | Memorial and Mini Symposium

Lead: Nicholas Johnson

Funding Provided: $8,000

Restorative Pathways for International Graduate Students at UMass Boston

Lead: Sahar Badiezadeh

Funding Provided: $12,000

Women of Color Leadership Café (WOCLC)

Lead: Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson

Funding Provided: $11,000

Candida: Cabo Verdean Intergenerational Cultural Transmission Through Film

Lead: Rosalyn Negron and Denise Patmon

Funding Provided: $8,000

Godwon Ecosystem: SoulStitch — Empowering Voices Through Poetry and Design

Lead: Julius Williams

Funding Provided: $6,000

Listening to Heal: Building Restorative Community and Mentorship for Women of Color Students at UMass Boston

Lead: Afsana Alam

Funding Provided: $10,000

Funded Transformative Equity Grant 2024-2025

Beyond Mere Survival , Healing and Restorative Justice for Faculty of Color of UMASS Boston

Focus:
Investigating the toll of racialized emotions and chronic overextension (“sacrifice syndrome”) among faculty of color and building restorative pathways for healing and advocacy.

Key Components:

  • Research: Interviews, focus groups, and daily diary collection
  • Programming: Restorative dialogues, webinars, and policy recommendations
  • Partnerships: MFCA, Trotter Institute, Gastón Institute, FSU

2025 National Conference of Race and Ethnicity (NCORE)

Lead: Steven Neville (Student Multicultural Affairs)
Funding Provided: $21,000

Focus:
Support for a 10-person UMB team to attend the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE) to build equity leadership capacity.

Key Components:

  • Student and faculty/staff delegation
  • Fall 2025 debrief symposium
  • Integration into ongoing DEI efforts

Partners: Office of Student Engagement, Student Affairs
Sustainability: Institutional learning via post-conference programming

Modern Africa Building Bridges

Lead: Celicia Idika-Kalu (Africa Scholars Forum) 
Funding Provided: $5,000 

Focus: 
Fosters intellectual restoration and cultural understanding by developing a contemporary Africa graduate course and speaker series. 

Key Components: 

  • Course development 
  • Events: Africa Day, Kwanzaa Day, Ubuntu Conversations 
  • Academic-community partnerships 

Partners: Africana Studies, CR+GG, McCormack Graduate School 
Evaluation: Enrollment data, event feedback, and course assessments 

Leadership for Our Times: Strategizing Responses to New Federal Directive

Lead: Dr. Paul Watanabe (Institute for Asian American Studies) 
Funding Provided: $16,000 

Focus: 
Four convening to name and respond to federal-level harms targeting marginalized communities under the new Trump administration, especially through racist and anti-DEI policies. 

Key Components: 

  • Community-centered convening (April–October 2025) 
  • Coalition building with legal, civic, and academic partners 
  • Dialogue on policy impacts and collective resilience strategies 

Partners: CANALA Institutes (Trotter, Gastón, INENAS, IAAS); MA Health Equity Compact; MA Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; ACLU 

Evaluation: 
Participant feedback, quality of recommendations, depth of engagement 
Sustainability: Long-standing CANALA-CBO partnerships and future funding 

Navigating Success: Holistic Career Pathways for Minoritized Students

Lead: Patricia Naya (College of Management, PhD Candidate) 
Co-Lead: Adanna Kalejaye (PASA President, Public Policy) 
Funding Provided: $19,500 

Focus: 
Career readiness, mentorship, and immigration literacy for African American and African international students at UMB. 

Key Components: 

  • Career summit with alumni, attorneys, employers 
  • Development of culturally relevant job prep and immigration materials 
  • Interdepartmental partnerships to close systemic gaps 

Partners: PASA, BSU, African Scholar Forum, ISSS, Career Services, Inclusive Excellence 
Evaluation: Student success outcomes, confidence levels, and focus groups 
Sustainability: Knowledge transfer and summit materials for reuse by student organizations 

Community Engaged Program Design for Diverse, Fair and Inclusive Academic Environment and Workplace

Lead: Michael Johnson (Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs) 

Co-Lead: Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson (Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs) 

Funding Provided: $21,148 

Focus: 

Inclusive excellence in graduate education, emphasizing programming, academic supports and advocacy for international students and domestic students of color across all academic units at UMB 

 Key Components: 

  • Pedagogy, Curriculum and Advising/Mentoring 
  • Professional Development for Faculty, Staff and Administrators 
  • Student Advocacy and Support 
  • Research 
  • Recruitment and Retention of Faculty, Staff and Students 
  • Strategic Alignment and Policy Review 
  • Bridge Course for International and Domestic Students of Color 
  • Inclusive Excellence Guide 

Partners: College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Office; McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies; Office of Graduate Studies; Office of the Dean of Students and Office of Student Multicultural Affairs; Ross Center for Disability Services 

Evaluation: Detailed objectives, process measures, outcomes and measurement tools for each component area, including (for student advocacy): Objective: improve physical accessibility for students with disabilities; Process Measures: Consult Ross Center and Center for Innovative Teaching; Outcomes: Awareness training completed; Measurement tools: Interviews with M-RET leadership, staff and workgroup members 

Sustainability: Continued funding by College of Liberal Arts Dean’s office and McCormack Graduate School; in-kind supports from the Center for Innovative Teaching and Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy; external funding through the Truth, Reconciliation and Racial Healing Project, the Healey-Driscoll Higher Education Innovation Fund, the Sloan Foundation and other organizations 

 

Fugitive Pedagogy and Black Press Literacy

Lead: Dr. Denise Patmon (Boston Writing Project / CEHD) 
Funding Provided: $15,000 

Focus: 
Utilizes the history of the Boston Guardian and fugitive pedagogy to promote Black civic engagement and community healing through historical literacy. 

Key Components: 

  • Monthly sessions Fall 2025 
  • Archival interpretation and curriculum development 
  • Focus on intergenerational dialogue, press literacy, and justice 

Partners: Trotter Institute, K–16 educators, CEHD 
Evaluation: Exit tickets, pre/post surveys, participant storytelling 
Sustainability: Public archive and funding outreach