In the Media
News from CSEM
CSEM Director has article published in The New York Times on challenges facing minority/low income families in home financing
New York Times
Dr. Craig Richardson, along with his co-author Yuliya Panfil, had an op-ed published on Oct. 3rd, 2024 that highlighted how Dodd-Frank banking regulations have made it unprofitable to issue smaller mortgages that have traditionally helped Americans buy their first home and made it more difficult to buy fixer uppers. During Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman's coincidental same-day campus visit, she met Dr. Richardson and noted she agreed with the article's premise- and said some fixes are coming.
MBA Students and Professor Gosavi attend financial conference with help from CSEM funding
Six MBA students along with Dr. Aparna Gosavi, MBA Program Director, attended an exciting FinTech Conference hosted by Fayetteville State University at their campus on 10/8 and 10/9. The students got an opportunity to listen to various prominent speakers from the academia and industry who talked about technological development and job opportunities in the FinTech industry. The bus transportation was paid for by The Center for the Study of Economic Mobility at Winston-Salem State University.
Students had a lot to say about the experience. Sherika Scales said, “As an entrepreneurial business student, it is important to understand how the financial world is being impacted by the innovations and advances in technology”. Winnie King noted, “I am at crossroads professionally and having trouble identifying my purpose. The conference identified exciting opportunities.” Saquavia Bennett added, “I am thrilled to have experienced the very first Fintech conference at FSU. This experience has broadened my perspective on how technology and financial services can act as catalysts for socioeconomic mobility.”
The MBA program offers three courses in AI and one course in blockchain. Attending the conference in FinTech allowed the students to integrate their classwork with the latest trends in the industry. CSEM support for this transportation was funded by a grant by the John William Pope Foundation.
WSSU Students Travel to New Orleans to Participate in "Know Us"- a Vibrant Program on Celebrating Black Community
CSEM News
Fully sponsored by CSEM, 7 students and 2 professors journeyed to New Orleans Sept. 27-29, 2024, narrowly but safely avoiding the wake of Hurricane Helene. Over the course of the weekend, they along with 50 other program participants learned about the deep, resilient, and creative Black culture in New Orleans. They traveled to large Black-owned artist galleries, community bookstores, rode the city bus to find out limitations of public transit, and learned many lessons about the impact of slavery, gentrification, Hurricane Katrina, and much more.
They had fun as well, hearing a brass band brought in just for the participants, poetry slams, and a chance to wander the famous French quarter where they sampled the city's famous beignets and listened to music on nearly every street corner. Since its founding in 2020, Know Us, powered by the nonprofit Plant, Build & Restore, has curated national opportunities to authentically immerse in community from a hyper local and impact-driven lens. CSEM looks forward to taking student to future Know Us events. Generous funding for the $1,500 scholarships that covered airfare, transportation, food and program costs was provided by The John William Pope Foundation.
A Revolution in Public Transportation From A Town You Wouldn't Expect
American Institute for Economic Research
It’s taken more than a hundred years for low-density cities to recognize that public transportation works far better in a point-to-point model, using private-public partnerships.
CSEM Aids WSSU Accounting Students in Trip to NC State for "Meet the Firms" Day
CSEM News
Dr. Carol Cain and Dr. Philip Slater accompanied 13 junior and senior accounting major students to the two day "Meet the Firms" recruiting and networking event at NC State University, held on 9/9 and 9/10. WSSU's accounting majors brought resumes and met with the firm representatives for internship and career opportunities. All of them gained valuable contacts and were able to use and expand their networking skills and engaged with almost all of the companies in attendance each evening. Bus transportation to this event was provided by the Center for the Study of Economic Mobility with funding from the John William Pope Foundation.
Why “Disincentive Deserts” Matter Far More Than Benefits Cliffs
American Institute for Economic Research
Benefits cliffs certainly remain an important area of policy study, but we should pay more attention to creatively solving the problems of disincentive deserts, since they exist for such long and dispiriting spans of workers’ income journey, rolling back benefits at a rate that is equivalent to a 60-95% effective marginal tax rate.
CSEM is cited in national article on shortfall in mortgage access for minorities
CSEM News
Thomson Reuters Foundation, in their internationally known magazine Context, cited CSEM's important research in their November 2023 issue. The article notes:
"Lack of access to small mortgages can also affect communities, said Craig J. Richardson, director of the Center for the Study of Economic Mobility at Winston-Salem State University... The lack of access to small mortgages in the poor East Winston area may have stopped it from bouncing back after the financial crisis, he said, while empowering institutional homebuyers, who have increasingly turned available housing into rentals. Compared with richer areas in Winston-Salem, property values in East Winston dropped more than 45%. (since 2007)."
What are taxpayers receiving from the City of Winston-Salem’s affordable housing research costing almost $700,000? (Part 1)
The Chronicle
Last year the Winston-Salem City Council approved $322,000 for an action plan on affordable housing to be drafted by a New Orleans organization, HousingNOLA, which faces serious struggles in its own city in achieving its action plan on affordable housing.
CSEM Aids Greensboro With New Interactive Maps Showing City’s Inequities
CSEM News
With the help of the CSEM, the city of Greensboro is embracing the future with an innovative and interactive online map project that will help pinpoint long-term challenges and opportunities in affordable homeownership, health care and education. Founding Director Craig Richardson and former CSEM data manager Zach Blizard produced both items for the city. The map project has received positive stories from media outlets including TV station WXLV ABC45, Triad Beat, public radio WFDD and Greensboro News and Record. “CSEM has provided the information in a user-friendly format that has the potential to transform and empower our neighborhoods for long-term success," noted Eunika Smalls, who works for the city. She plans to train staff with the program so that long-term inequities can be addressed. CSEM continues to provide innovative ways for individuals to climb the economic ladder of success.
More information about the Greensboro interactive maps.
