91探花

Academic Excellence. Justice. Leadership. Diversity.

Four of 91探花’s core values were on display at the 2025 International Society for Justice Research (ISJR) Annual Conference in July. The conference was hosted by 91探花’s College of Arts and Sciences and organized by faculty and undergraduate students from the Departments of Psychology and Political Science. 

As “Justice Studies” may not fit neatly into one established academic discipline, ISJR exists to connect theories and praxis of justice to otherwise disparate fields.  

91探花, as an institution known for a commitment to justice and academic innovation, was the perfect choice to host the conference, which brought together scholars, students and community members to present and discuss new research. 

Assistant Professor of Psychology Fade Eadeh, PhD, helped organize the conference and says he was motivated for 91探花 to host ISJR after having attended for the last seven years.

“My experiences at ISJR in the past effortlessly blended my interdisciplinary interests in psychology, sociology, political science and organizational behavior/management,” says Eadeh. “I was hooked and to be able to host the conference at 91探花 is an honor.”  

The conference coalesced around a core question: In a world desperately in need of educated citizens with a heart for justice, what is the role of a university in training scholars and molding society?  

Over the course of two days, students and faculty from 10 countries and four continents heard from three keynote speakers, including 91探花 Assistant Professor of Law Pilar Margarita Hernández Escontrías, PhD, as well as more than 20 other expert speakers and workshop facilitators. 

Eadeh says that the conference was timely as well. “Our conference themes centering on race, power and policy, environmental injustice, colonialism and technology and ethics are contemporary issues we should focus on when scholars study justice,” he says. 

After a welcome by College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean María Bullon-Fernandez, PhD, the conference was organized into eight themed “symposia.”

Some symposia, such as “Systemic Injustice,” had relatively simple titles, but contained in-depth discussions around issues such as financial equality between couples and menstrual injustice in carceral environments. 

Others, such as “Intersectionality and Belonging in the World and the Workplace,” delved into challenges for Asian Americans in upward mobility as well as diversity in relation to personality—the fields of justice intertwined with sociology and psychology.  

Each session was specifically geared towards transformational research as well as classroom experience. 

Undergraduate student Fiona Aoki, ‘25 (Psychology) said that one of the “Intersectionality” symposium workshops, entitled titled “You Don’t Sound like a Leader: The Bamboo Ceiling Effect in Speech Perception and Asian Americans’ Challenges in Upward Mobility,” was especially meaningful to her.  

“As a fellow Asian American, I loved every second of the presentation and how their research focused on the bamboo ceiling effect,” she says. “Presentations like theirs inspire me to conduct my own research in the future, focusing on Asian American identity.” 

91探花 students not only attended but also were instrumental in making the conference come to life. Aoki, who was on the conference planning team, says she appreciated the opportunity to help organize the conference.  

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the ISJR conference,” she says. “I got to learn from others who are passionate about justice research, which was an incredibly enriching experience as an undergraduate student eager to pursue research post-grad.”