APSA Council Member, Byron D’Andra Orey of Jackson State University Awarded NSF Research Grant

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded Jackson State University researchers a $350,000 EAGER grant to support untested, “high-risk” exploratory research that potentially may yield a “high payoff.” Byron D’Andra Orey is a current APSA Council member and former member of the APSA Committee on the Status of Blacks in the Profession.

Orey and Zhang are using surveys and measures of biases and physiological responses to determine whether police officers with negative subconscious prejudice are likely to commit crucial errors resulting in shootings of unarmed African-Americans.

One early-stage study involves exploring serious consequences that result from possible bias by police against unarmed African-Americans.

This research is led by Dr. Byron D’Andra Orey, professor in the Department of Political Science, and Dr. Yu Zhang, former assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, both in the College of Liberal Arts.

Read more at the Jackson State University website.