Winter 2025 Letter from Director Joe Hoereth
Our Director Dr. Joseph Hoereth rounds up 2025
Friends of IPCE,
I hope everyone has had a great end to the fall semester. I always look forward to this time of year, as reflecting on our impact catalyzes the work ahead. I'm excited to share what we here at the Institute have been working on this past semester, and to look forward to what's next in the new year.
In August we welcomed 23 undergraduate students in the Urban Public Policy Fellowship (UPPF) program for the 2025-2026 academic year, and they are already hard at work at their internship sites. This cohort represents a large array of policy and research interests, and I am excited to see their progression as leaders as they navigate internships and research projects throughout the academic year. We also welcomed three Graduate Mentors for the program: Alexander Diaz, Larissa Mukundwa, and Carla Duran. Read more about their backgrounds and the experience they are bringing to the program on our staff page here.
This past semester, we hosted three engagement events on campus. On October 15th, Tanja Aitamurto, PhD, and her team presented at IPCE's first Civic Engagement Lunch Talk of the semester held in Daley Library. Her presentation was titled "Augmented Reality (AR) for Informing and Engaging the Public about Environmental Pollution”. She was accompanied by her research assistants, Michel Maksimova, PhD Student, Kendall Tyson, PhD candidate, and Niloufar Hajirahimi, PhD candidate. Then, on October 22nd we hosted IPCE’s first Space to Engage session of the academic year, entitled “Social Media and Political Understanding” in the IPCE office suite. Following this, On Wednesday, November 12th, Barbara Sostaita, PhD, Esmeralda Arrizón-Palomera, PhD, and Jorge Mena Robles, MA presented their research entitled "Undocumented Knowledges” as part of our Civic Engagement Lunch Talk held in Daley Library. Visit our blog to check out recaps of all of our fall events!
We are so excited to share that Our Urban Public Policy Fellowship (UPPF) Program Director Gabriela Avila has been honored with the UIC Award of Merit! The Award of Merit (AOM) is designed to recognize outstanding Civil Service and Academic Professional employees. It is a university-wide award honoring staff who exhibit excellence in service, commitment, and dedication. Join us in celebrating Gabby’s amazing accomplishments and well deserved award!
We are excited to announce Civics Unlocked, our new mini series where IPCE staff and Civic friends share best practices, methodologies, and tips in short clips! Our first Civics Unlocked short features IPCE Senior Associate Director Norma Ramos, who dives into the topic of World Cafes, which is an engagement method we use here at IPCE. Click here to check it out!
IPCE hosted two fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program (YSEALI PFP) this fall. We were delighted to host both Dr. Ko Ko Hlaing and Mateus Soares for their brief visit and online learning exchange. We would also like to extend our appreciation to our partnership with WorldChicago, helping to support several opportunities to learn and exchange civic engagement and democratic best practices around the globe over the years.
We have continued to work on our ongoing projects with our partners, including the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention (OFVP), and the Independent Monitoring Team for the Chicago Police Consent Decree.
Please keep us on your radar as we continue to announce upcoming IPCE and IPCE-sponsored events and initiatives, and bookmark our website and socials for updates on all things about the Institute!
Have a wonderful start to your new year,
Joseph K. Hoereth, PhD