Fall 2022 Letter from Director Joseph Hoereth

A Fall Welcome from IPCE Director Joseph Hoereth

Friends of IPCE,

I hope everyone had a great and smooth start to the fall semester. I am happy to share that the Institute for Civic and Policy Engagement celebrated a full summer of research, publications, and community impact with our partners. Heading into this academic year, we have an incredible lineup of programming, collaborations, and research to build on this momentum.

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: Thea Crum researching “Chicago participatory Budgeting next Generation Platform”; Dr. Alana Gunn with “Utilizing Social Advocacy Research to Explore the Effects of Policing on Community Health”; Dr. Allyson Holbrook working on “Public Opinion Surveys and Democratic Process Among Young Adults: Attitudes, Beliefs, Knowledge, and Behavior”; Dr. Zitlali Morales conducting research on “Amplifying Latinx Families’ Language Education Rights: Luchando for Urban Dual Language Bilingual Education”; Dr. Robin Reames with “Hannah Arendt on Rhetoric: Democracy Under the influence of Social Media”; and Dr. Rebecca Woodard researching “Educators Writing to Change the World”. We look forward to the profound insights and contributions of their work.

We will host one Civic Engagement Lunch Talk this semester: Dr. Chris Kanich from the department of Computer Science will present his research “Motivating Change: Understanding the Costs of Chicago’s Current Redistricting Process” on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at The Daley Library. Stay tuned for spring dates for lunch talks from our other 2021-22 Research Award recipients Dr. Jennifer Brier, Dr. Federica Fusi, and Dr. Kate Lowe.

We are also proud to welcome 18 undergraduate students in the Urban Public Policy Fellowship Program (UPPF) for the 2022-2023 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. You can learn more about the cohort here.

We had a busy summer with our work on the Community Focus Group Special Report for the Chicago Police Consent Decree, and the City of Elgin Community Task Force on Policing. We also want to lift up the work of the Illinois Muslims Report by the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition, and the APA-IL award-winning student planning project of the UIC Master of City Design Program – both of which we are incredibly proud to have supported.

Please keep in touch with us either through our website and social media 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 wish you all an invigorating season ahead.

Joseph K. Hoereth, PhD