about CARVᵗ
On October 27, 2018, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history occurred at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA. It occurred within a mile of the campuses of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). In its wake, the Pittsburgh community came together seeking not only to memorialize the victims appropriately, but also to respond proactively to help prevent such targeted violence.
One response was creating what is now the Center for Applied Research on Targeted Violence (CARVt), formerly known as the Collaboratory Against Hate. Pronounced “carve,” the center is carving a path forward in the field of targeted violence prevention. A partnership of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, CARVt leverages the world wide strengths of both premier research institutions where applied research is a cornerstone of their missions.
CARVt’s vision is to better understand and mitigate targeted violence stemming from group hatred. In the U.S., targeted violence has become increasingly widespread. The annual number of active shooter incidents, mass shootings, and hate crimes has risen steadily over the past decade. FBI-recorded antisemitic incidents have reached record highs, as has the number of hate crimes based on other identifiers such as race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion and sexual orientation.
In response, government agencies, law enforcement, nonprofits and community-based organizations nationwide have been implementing threat management and prevention practices to help reduce these acts of targeted violence. They require expertise related to analyzing data, measuring impact in order to determine best practices and to secure resources for these initiatives. CARVt provides a vital service and offers credibility and expertise in areas such as data analytics, program evaluation, survey design and implementation, and machine learning/language technologies to name but a few of the universities’ worldwide strengths.
In the past year, CARVt has been active in an increasingly wide range of applied research projects. Some have received external philanthropic support, others are under consideration, and others are in the planning or pilot stage. We invite you to explore our new website to learn more about CARVt.
Vision Statement:
To mitigate and better
understand targeted
violence stemming from
group hatred.
mission
Mission Statement:
CARVt ‘s mission is to address the phenomena of targeted violence through three channels of work:
- Develop and support innovative applied research through partnership between CMU and Pitt leveraging the expertise of faculty and researchers.
- Develop and implement project collaborations with industry, nonprofits, government, non-government organizations and the philanthropic community to reduce targeted violence.
- Synergize and support the universities’ educational missions through speaker series, podcasts, special events, and workshops.