Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - IUPR News - November 2011

View This E-mail on the Web November, 2011 Dear Friend: Before we take a short break to spend much needed time with family and friends, I want to say thank you. Your generous support and interest in our work this year reminds me that the work we do is needed and appreciated. Our vision is informed People, improved Lives, whole Communities, and it is through our work together that we move closer to achieving that vision. As the stories below will attest, we have been working hard to create opportunities that engage you in thought-provoking research, skill-building training, and public dialogue about the issues that matter. Start the year off right by signing up for one of our professional certificate courses, join us for the last session in Institute Dialogue Series of 2011, and submit your application for the Urban Issues Workshop this Spring.  Enjoy the holiday; we're looking forward to working with you soon! Sincerely, Dr. Timothy M. Bray Director Fall Dialogue Series Reflections from the International Drug Policy Alliance Conference with Joy Strickland of Mother's Against Teen Violence Tuesday, November 29th 6pm-8pm La Madeleine 3906 Lemmon Ave Suite 110 Dallas, TX 75219 2nd Annual Urban Issues Conference Friday, December 16th 2pm-4pm 17919 Waterview Parkway Suite 1.216 Dallas, Texas 75252 Coming Next Year... Spring Dialogue Series Each issue in the series is chosen because of its relevance North Texas neighborhoods and non-profits. In each Dialogue, practitioners, scholars, and community members share their varied perspectives while critically engaging the issues of the day. We hope that you will join us in discussion. Topics on tap include: The Changing Wealth Gap in Dallas Voices of Wholeness The Collaboration Showcase Collective Impact and You Revisiting Urban Design Look for the full schedule in our January newsletter. See something missing? Contact us and suggest it! New Blog to Frame Urban Policy Issues Over the last few years, we've gotten to know a number of interesting people in North Texas, and we're eager to share what we've learned from them with you. Look forward to our new blog, focusing on the stories and measures of whole communities, coming in February. Have an idea of someone we might get to know? Contact us! Design a Better Year with our Program Design and Development Certificate... Start the New Year off right by enrolling in the Institute's professional certificate program. The Certificate in Program Design and Development will meet on January 25th, February 1st and 8th, and will help you learn the ins and outs of planning your program, from the roots of your logic model, to planning for evaluation and identifying funding opportunities. Registration, open now, is filling fast! For more information, click here. "You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change."-Les Brown Urban Issues Workshop Seeks New Projects The Institute is excited to offer the Urban Issues Workshop again this spring semester, continuing the mission of the Citi Community Leadership Initiative of increasing the sustainability and viability of local non-profits. The Urban Issues Workshop offers graduate students the opportunity to apply statistical and methodological training to research questions submitted by you. We're now taking applications for your non-profit's research needs. Applications are due by January 25th. It's a quick and easy process. To learn more and apply, click here. "The workshop helped me understand that research should be useful and adaptable to issues that actually affect people in the community."-Alero Akporiaye IUPR Staff: Here, There and Everywhere! In addition to our service to and passion for North Texas neighborhoods and non-profits, the IUPR staff also engage in national and international dialogues about urban policy. Dr. Bray delivered the morning keynote at the St. Louis Federal Reserve's St. Louis Drilldown conference, and will provide the luncheon address with colleagues from the Dallas Morning News at the Federal Reserve Board's Strategic Data Use conference in Baltimore. With other local and grass roots leaders, Dr. Bray represented Dallas at Policy Link's Equity Summit 2011 in Detroit. Meanwhile, Sara Mokuria presented a paper at the Philosophy Born of Struggle conference in Lansing and was an invited guest at the Drug Policy Alliance annual conference in Los Angeles. Anthony Galvan presented original research at the Suburbs and the 2010 Census conference in Arlington, Virginia. IUPR was represented abroad by Rubana Ahmed, who shared a poster presentation at the LSHTM-WHO Research Symposium: Equitable Health Services for People with Disabilities in London. Alexis Harper recently attended the American Society of Criminology conference in Washington, D.C. and made a poster presentation at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting in Toronto. These experiences inform our perspective, and provide great opportunities to showcase the important work of our partners in the community. Working with the Next Generation At the Institute for Urban Policy Research, we foster hands-on opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to engage the North Texas community in meaningful ways. This semester, two talented students are working with us to update the Wholeness Index. Sheila Dang became interested in the Institute through her experience with the Citi Community Leadership Initiative. A sophomore working with the campus newspaper and majoring in political science, Sheila's work focuses on telling the story of living in whole communities. We are excited to work with yet another great McDermott Scholar, Husain Mogri. An international student hailing from Bahrain, Husain is a sophomore majoring in biology and working on updating data about the quality of life in Dallas neighborhoods. We look forward to sharing the fruits of their labor in the Spring. The Institute for Urban Policy Research School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences The University of Texas at Dallas 800 West Campbell Road, WT20 Richardson, Texas 75080 (972)883-5432

Friday, September 30, 2011 - IUPR News - September 2011

View This E-mail on the Web September, 2011 Dear Friend of the Institute: It's been a busy six months since we last checked in. As the news below will attest, we've been hard at work. I wanted to make sure you were aware of the new opportunities below. This fall not only brings the first of a new line of professional certificates being offered by the Institute, but also sees a diverse lineup for the Institute Dialogue Series starting this coming Monday October 3rd. Students in the Urban Issues Workshop are ramping up and seeking applications for fall semester projects, and we're looking to round up those of you interested in participating in Policy Link's triennial Regional Equity Summit in Detroit this November. Two new IUPR tools are on the way! Finally, now that everyone has settled in, I wanted to take a moment and let you know about our new staff who have joined us since I last wrote. Busy, indeed. But still committed to providing quality research that improves quality of life for our neighbors and their neighborhoods. Check out the news below; we're looking forward to working together! Sincerely, Dr. Timothy M. Bray, Director Dialogue Series Announced We've got a great fall lineup of Dialogue Series events in store! On campus and in your neighborhood, we're sure you'll find something to interest you. Issues in Education: The School to Prison Pipeline Monday, October 3rd Building on a ground breaking report from the Council of State Governments, this dialogue brings together educators, parents, and students to explore more deeply the entrenched issues of school discipline. Click For Details Paving the Path to the Dream: Using the Census to Advocate for Change Wednesday, October 5th First in a series of events focusing on the 2010 Census and its role in community change, this event features prominent local voices for diversity, and promises to provide a deeper understanding of the power that Census data holds. Click For Details Coming Later This Fall... Exploring the Growing Wealth Gap in Dallas: What It Means for Kids and Families Join us as we continue our Census series with an exploration of the growing wealth gap in Dallas. We'll assemble local voices and leaders to discuss the implications of this important demographic shift. The Freedom Forum IUPR is excited to be a part of the partnership bringing the Forum to Dallas. Specializing in unique and innovative ways for communities to identify and achieve consensus on important issues, the Forum promises to be an invaluable tool for creating lasting community change. New Certificate Program Launches In response to popular demand,the Institute's newest professional certificate program launches Wednesday, October 19th. The Certificate in Program Design and Development, which meets on three days this October and November, helps non-profit staff learn the ins and outs of planning their program, from the roots of their logic model, to planning for evaluation and identifying funding opportunities. Registration, open now, is filling fast! For more information, click here. IUPR Joins to Lead Delegation to Equity Summit 2011 Great news! Policy Link's Equity Summit 2011, a gathering of change agents dedicated to equitable community development and community change, takes place in Detroit this year, from November 8th through 11th. IUPR, in conjunction with several community partners, is happy to be leading the Dallas delegation to the conference. For more information about the Dallas Delegation, e-mail me here! To learn more about the Equity Summit, click here. Urban Issues Workshop Seeks New Projects The Institute is proud to offer the Urban Issues Workshop again this fall semester, in continuing the mission of the Citi Community Leadership Initiative. We're now taking applications for your non-profit's research needs. Applications are due by October 7th. It's a quick and easy process, and might result in your organization getting the resources it needs to extend an important project. To learn more or apply, click here Welcome Aboard It's no surprise. We're able to do the work we do because of the talented people who keep the IUPR mission alive and well. Since our last update, Ms. Sara Mokuria and Mr. Anthony Galvan have joined us as Senior Research Associates. Anthony's background in political science and quantitative research have been a benefit to a number of IUPR clients, while Sara's experience in community engagement and field research has strengthened our work in the neighborhoods. Welcome Sara and Anthony! IUPR To Unveil New Tools After a year's work on the Citi Community Leadership Initiative, and a number of meetings with our community partners, the Institute looks forward to releasing two new products this fall. The CCLI Toolkit embodies the work of our Citi Community Leadership Initiative Steering Committee that has focussed its efforts on identifying the ways in which the university community can work with non-profits that serve low- and moderate-income communities to help them increase their long-term sustainability. The toolkit includes basic curricular tools and examples of project plans for the Urban Issues Workshop and Undergraduate Student Engagement initiatives. Based on your thoughts and suggestions, we are looking forward to a release later this year of DataBank, a new and innovative way for small and mid-sized organizations to access the research services they need for grants, special projects, and the like. DataBank will increase access to quality research and technology infrastructure, while increasing opportunities for collaboration between agencies. Stay tuned! The Institute for Urban Policy Research School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences The University of Texas at Dallas 800 West Campbell Road, WT20 Richardson, Texas 75080-3021 (972)883-5430 Visit IUPR on the Web $(Tracking)

Monday, November 29, 2010 - Need Research? Try the Urban Issues Workshop!

Dear Friend of the Institute: We have great news for you as your return from your Thanksgiving break. The Institute for Urban Policy Research in the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at UT Dallas is pleased to announce the launching of its Urban Issues Workshop. The Urban Issues Workshop provides an opportunity for non-profits and community-based organizations to access the basic research they need by connecting them with advanced graduate students who are interested in sharpening their research skills while helping the community. Simply take a few minutes to complete the brief online application available here, and your project will be screened by the Urban Issues Workshop students in an effort to find a suitable match. The current application cycle is seeking projects for the spring semester, which starts in January, 2011. More information about the Urban Issues Workshop, including information on appropriate projects and timelines, is available on the Urban Issues Workshop website located here. To increase your chance of matching with a spring semester student, submit your brief application by Monday, December 6th. As always, we welcome the opportunity to be of service to our friends in the community, and very much look forward to our potential work with you. Sincerely, Dr. Timothy M. Bray, Director The Institute for Urban Policy Research School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences The University of Texas at Dallas 800 West Campbell Road, WT20 Richardson, Texas 75080-3021 (972)883-5430 Visit IUPR on the Web $(Tracking)