After years of planning, the Cornell Center for Social Sciences (CCSS) has moved into a newly renovated space in Clark Hall. The new 2,500-square-foot space on the second floor of Clark will serve as a hub for the social sciences on campus.

“Clark Hall is a great location for CCSS because it is centrally located within the major social science departments and schools on campus, making it easy for faculty and students to reach,” said Peter Enns, the Robert S. Harrison Director of CCSS.

Enns, a professor in the Department of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, said the move to Clark Hall, which houses the School of Applied and Engineering Physics, also “offers a reminder that ambitious research often depends on radical collaborations across typical disciplinary boundaries.”

The space includes a large conference room that will be used for workshops and seminars, as well as a kitchenette and collaborative space that will encourage conversations among students and faculty attending events.

"The renovations in the new CCSS space were designed to ensure Cornell social scientists have a centrally located space to further catalyze collaborations and the incredible social science research being conducted at Cornell,” said Provost Michael I. Kotlikoff. “I have great confidence that Professor Enns and the terrific staff of the CCSS will continue to enhance the combined excellence and impact of our social sciences community.”

The new CCSS space has already been used for NextGenPop, a two-week program aimed at increasing diversity in the field of population science, events for CCSS grantees and CCSS’s Qualitative and Interpretive Research Institute (QuIRI), and numerous workshops.

The CCSS Clark Hall location also has office space for CCSS staff and offices for consulting sessions. In addition to hosting workshops and fostering research collaborations, CCSS provides advanced computing services, access to data – including regulated and restricted data, data replication and archiving services, external grant support, and grants and fellowships to faculty and graduate students.

“It’s very hard to find 2,500 square feet of space available anywhere on central campus,” said Todd Pfeiffer, director of facilities, research and innovation at Cornell. “The importance for CCSS to be more accessible to faculty and students, were the big motivations for selecting Clark Hall for this project.”

While Clark Hall serves as CCSS’s primary location, the center has offices in Rhodes Hall for its faculty fellows program as well as two secure data rooms in Rhodes Hall where researchers can access restricted data. CCSS also oversees Cornell’s Federal Statistical Research Data Center, where faculty and students can access census data, on Pine Tree Road. CCSS’s mission is to accelerate, enhance, and amplify social science research at Cornell.

Check the CCSS website to learn more about the space or submit a booking request for a social science-related event.

Sherrie Negrea is a freelance writer for the Cornell Center for Social Sciences.