• ABOUT THE INSTITUTE

MESSAGE FROM THE INSTITUTE DIRECTOR

“As incoming Institute director my priority will be defending American democracy and working toward a political system that works for everyone – not just the wealthy and well-connected. I am committed to continuing the Institute’s important work bridging academia and practice, ensuring that scholarship informs action and that real-world experience informs research. The Institute’s substantive agenda will include issues of authoritarian government and democratic backsliding, oligarchy, political corruption, social movements and mass mobilization, attacks on gender and racial equality, corporate political advocacy, and the political attitudes and civic engagement of American youth.”

— Martin Gilens

HISTORY

The UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy was launched in 2016 and made possible by a generous gift from Renee and Meyer Luskin. A major initiative of the school’s five-point strategic plan, it was intended to be a key node of research and public outreach for social justice scholarship and public programs at UCLA Luskin.

From 2016 to 2026, Ananya Roy served as founding faculty director and developed a mandate to organize knowledge to challenge inequality. The Institute undertook research and scholarship in accompaniment of movements and communities on the frontlines of dispossession and displacement in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the world. Led by Professor Roy and associate faculty directors, Professors Hannah Appel and Kian Goh, such work focused on housing justice, sanctuary spaces, the future of finance, and climate justice, and took the form of insurgent research collectives, reparative public goods, and liberatory knowledge. Learn more about previous research and programs, publications, and events here.

Professor Martin Gilens was appointed as the next Institute director in July 2026. Gilens has published widely on political inequality, mass media, race, gender, and welfare politics. His appointment marks an exciting new era of the Institute’s growth.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Images featured on this website have been generously provided by: David Baillot, Stefano Borghi, Brittany Bravo, Steven Chun, Amanda Darouie, City of Vancouver Archives, Debt Collective, Filomena Cruz, Les Dunseith, Ted Eytan, Justin Gaar, Angela Garcia, Roberto Gudiño, La Hidra Cooperativa, Stephan Jockel, Aaron Julian, Anthony Orendorff, Stan Paul, Right to Remain Collective, Crystal Tompkins, UCLA Library Special Collections, Taymaz Valley, Talesha Wilson

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.

Click on the linked words to hear the pronunciation for the Tongva-language words.