Fall 2020 Letter from Director Joe Hoereth

A letter from Director Joseph Hoereth with exciting news and updates from IPCE

Friends of IPCE,

I hope everyone is having a great start to their fall semesters. There is no way to fully describe how unusual these times are. The pandemic has affected us all in ways we may have never imagined. However, we are all adapting and finding a way forward in our work. As always, I'm excited to share what the Institute has been working on this summer, and to look forward to what's next this year.

We had a busy summer completing the research on the community engagement survey, for the Independent Monitor for police reform in Chicago. The report presents results from a community survey that asked about how Chicago residents (Chicagoans) feel about and interact with the Chicago Police Department .

We will host two Civic Engagement Lunch Talks this semester. Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton and Dr. Janet Smith will present their research on the “Census 2020: Redistricting and the Future of Democracy in Illinois”. We also hope to host a second lunch on talk on the emotional well-being of our health and the importance of it on our civic engagement and justice efforts. Stay tuned to our website and social channels for updates on these talks!

We are proud to welcome 24 undergraduate students in the Urban Public Policy Fellowship program for the 2020-2021 academic year. This cohort represents a large array of policy and research interests, and I am excited to see their progression as leaders as they navigate their internships and research projects throughout the academic year.

In terms of Institute events, IPCE is partnering with other UIC units and research centers to support Constitution Day, the Future of Chicago Speaker Series, a Student National Issues Convention, the UIC Urban Forum, and others. We are also pleased to host two more of our Space to Engage open dialogue spaces this semester, on October 20 and November 17. Space to Engage is an opportunity for folks from across campus to come together, eat, and engage in discourse and discovery about relevant issues in our communities. The topics for our Fall Space to Engage series will be announced soon.

We are excited to announce the research projects that the Institute will help to fund this year as part of our Civic Engagement Research Awards. The awardees are as follows:

Dr. Claire Laurier Decoteau will conduct research on the “Social Autopsy of COVID-19 in Chicago”; Dr. Faith R. Kares, will provide research on “The State of Racial Justice for Arab Americans in Chicago”; and Dr. Nadine Naber will work on “Integrating Mothers of Color into Policy Processes on Prisons and Immigration”.

IPCE is not able to open a call for applications for our Public Discourse Awards due to budget restraints for FY21. Our Public Discourse Awards have funded awards for UIC faculty and research staff to host a public discourse event about public policy in the past. We hope to open the call for applications soon

Please keep in touch with us either through our newsletter, social media, or website to make sure you’re always in the know when we announce events, awards, or newly published research.

I hope to see you at one of our events this semester, and hope that you are all keeping safe and healthy.

Joseph K. Hoereth, PhD