51°µÍø

Jordan Battle is an Adjunct Professor of Africana Studies at the University of South Florida and Assistant Director of Student Research at the Institute on Black Life at USF. His work is rooted in Afropessimism, critical race theory, and the archival study of Black life, with a particular focus on the psychological implications of enslavement and anti-Blackness for everyone socialized within America's racial order. He is animated by a central question: what does it mean to carry that inheritance, consciously and unconsciously, across generations? At IBL, he develops and leads interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate research groups where students sit with that question and others seriously and rigorously. His recent community-engaged work has focused on voting rights and civic reentry in Florida.

Aidan is a spring 2026 graduate with a degree in sociology and political science. He has worked with the Institute on Black Life as a voting rights intern and as a research assistant. He began his relationship with IBL through the Journey Towards Justice experiential education course.  

Marisa Panton is a double-major student in Economics and Political Science at the 51°µÍø Honors College. Her research interests include criminal justice reform, political participation, and efficiency in law. In her work with civic engagement and returning citizen projects, she studies how public policy can affect democratic participation and access to opportunity. She plans to pursue a Juris Doctor and a career in legal advocacy and public service. 

Yarian is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts in Criminology from the University of South Florida. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Criminology with a minor in Forensic Behavioral Health in 2025. Her research focuses on post-incarceration reentry, substance use and criminality, and misconceptions of the criminal justice system. Her experience includes the Substance Misuse and Addiction Traineeship (SMART) with the Johnson Lab, the Center for Justice Research & Policy (CJRP) Lab, and the Crime Research, Etiology, and Treatment Evaluation (CREATE) Lab. 
 
Yarian is also involved with the Institute on Black Life (IBL) at USF and was part of the 2025 Journey Towards Justice course cohort. She is also part of the Southern Griot, a graduate student research group at IBL exploring social justice. Her involvement with IBL led her to be a part of the Voting Rights internship, working with the League of Women Voters. Currently, she is a counselor for the TRIO Student Support Services program at USF. Serving first-generation and low-income undergraduate students.