Spring 2022 Letter from Director Joseph Hoereth
Our Director Dr. Joseph Hoereth rounds out the academic year
Friends of IPCE,
May always arrives at once as a surprise and hard-earned finish line. I always look forward to this moment of fresh air and reflection, as a reminder of all that we’ve accomplished together. As we take a look ahead to summer projects, planning, and continued adaptation in the face of the pandemic, we invite you to celebrate this semester’s journey with us.
Most recently, over 300 community members, policymakers, researchers, and public intellectuals convened virtually on April 20 for the 2022 Urban Forum to take on the complex topic of an inclusive recovery out of the global pandemic. Speakers, panels and papers helped to consider how the health of our cities and urban resilience will be measured by our success in including all of our citizens in a shared recovery.
We rounded out our Civic Engagement Lunch Talk Series this spring with two incredible presentations: In February, Professor Claire Decoteau of the Sociology Department presented "Social Autopsy of COVID-19 in Chicago", done in collaboration with the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy's State of Racial Justice Reports. In March, Professor Nadine Naber of the Gender and Women’s Studies and Global Asian Studies Departments presented “Activist Mothering – Ending Police Violence through a Reproductive Justice Lens: A Civic Engagement Lunch Talk”. She was joined by Esther Hernandez, Member of Mothers of the Kidnapped and Innocent Demand Justice, her research was done in collaboration with Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition & Solidarity (MAMAS). Thank you to all our Research Fund awardees for presenting their findings over the course of the academic year. The insights gained from their research will advance the mission of civic engagement in diverse disciplines.
Undergraduate fellows in the Urban Public Policy Fellowship (UPPF) Program were also hard at work this spring finalizing research projects and presenting research posters virtually at our annual Research Symposium: Exploring the Impact of Research Policy. Fellows’ projects stemmed from hands-on internship experiences on policy-related topics such as immigration reform, mental health, and community development. Twenty students successfully completed the UPPF program this year, and I congratulate them all on behalf of IPCE.
We’re moving forward with planning for our usual fall programming. The call for proposals for the Civic Engagement Research Fund Award is open. Please see our website for submission guidelines. Applications will be accepted through June 1. Applications for the UPPF program are also available now and will be accepted until May 13. The selection committee will meet this summer to accept fellows. As always, IPCE commitments are contingent upon state funding. Stay tuned later this summer for announcements regarding upcoming fall programs and events.
Have a safe and wonderful summer!
Joseph K. Hoereth, PhD