About the Head of SUAPP

Stan Hyland is currently the Head of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Memphis. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana, with a Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1977.  

Since coming to the University of Memphis in 1976, Stan has received 30 major honors including the College of Arts and Sciences Meritorious Faculty Award, the University’s Engaged Scholarship Award, Harold Love Award, seven SPUR research Awards, and a Faudree Professorship. Stan was Chair of Anthropology and has served as Head of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy for over a decade.  He has collaborated with numerous governmental agencies, nonprofits, and community based organizations. He and his team received the Best Practices Award (Memphis Maps) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  In 1988-1990 he directed research for the Federal Commission on the Economic Development of the Lower Mississippi Delta region, chaired by then governor, Bill Clinton.   

His research interests include neighborhood revitalization, community building, social entrepreneurship, participatory action research/evaluation and community economic development. Hyland is involved in major community initiatives throughout Shelby County. These initiatives have included UPTOWN, the University District, College Park (LeMoyne Owen), and Lakeland. He currently serves on the Memphis Landmarks Commission and the Board of Directors for the Urban Child Institute. His collaborative work has resulted in numerous grants and contracts, publications, international and national awards, and a series of students who now manage agencies and non-profits.

Commission Professor Hyland has been involved in the transformation of public housing in Memphis and the evaluation of four of the HOPE VI projects. For the past five years his work on health disparity and more effective delivery systems has been funded by the Urban Child Institute. He has collaborated on nearly $3.5 million dollars in funding, and has produced seventy-five reports, monographs, articles and a seminal book on Community Building for the 21^st Century was published by the School of American Research.  His most recent article is entitled “Developing Poverty Reform Efforts in the Memphis Region: Lessons For an Engaged Anthropology.”