Human Rights Lab

Our Projects

The Human Rights Lab at Albion College bridges the gap between theory and practice, showing how research and advocacy can be used to reduce inequality and increase access to rights and justice. The Lab prioritizes experiential learning and community building and links the local with the global.

The Human Rights Lab is a program of the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service in the School of Public Purpose and Professional Advancement.

Advocacy Toolkit

We offer tools and strategies for defending human rights in our own communities and organizing with others for collaborative, human rights-inspired change. Created with college students for college students, our online toolkit offers practical ideas for building more inclusive spaces, preventing bias, challenging hate, and increasing access to rights and justice.

Community Partnerships

Albion students and community partners work together to explore the connections between human rights ideas and human rights practice and how local and global norms shape each other. Lab members and their community partners research, write, and advocate for equitable, rights-based policy practices locally.

Human Rights Education

Picture of Lab member presenting during a human rights advocacy workshop.

The human rights education project promotes human rights through co-curricular programming. Human Rights Lab students host events, design factsheets, create educational curriculum and train campus peers in the the best practices of human rights advocacy and social change. 

Human Rights Certificate

All students at Albion College can pursue a certificate in human rights to complement their major program of study. Students can get credentialed in community engagement or advocacy strategies and tactics by signing up for an Innovation Badge through the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Service.