Community Connections

Projects and Partnerships

LIFE Project

LIFELONG INITIATIVE FOR FAMILY EMPOWERMENT (LIFE) engages parents/ caregivers and youth in families with children aged 0-3 in health promoting activities. This community based project focuses on the needs of families who love in zip codes 38106 and 38126.

The University of Memphis and Knowledge Quest, Inc. are partners on this initiative , which is funded by the Urban Child Institute. LIFE's mission is to connect families to a system of care that promotes the healthy development of their youngest family members.

To learn more about the project, contact;
Dr. Gregory Washington
gwshungt1@memphis.edu

ALSAC/Partnership

The University of Memphis and St. Jude/ALSAC to offer new academic courses focused on philanthropy and nonprofit administration. The collaboration will also provide internship opportunities for students and help them learn more about the organization and how it operates.

To learn more about the collaboration, contact:
Dr. Sharon Wrobel
swrobel@memphis.edu

Women's Empowerment Project

Dr. Robin Lennon-Dearing collaborated with Friends for Life, Inc. in a seven-week group intervention for 23 women living with HIV. Funded through Strengthening Communities Grant, the project gave women the opportunity to create a photojournal to capture personal stories ad challenges that reflected their everyday experiences as HIV = women.

To learn more about the project, Contact:
Dr. Robin Lennon-Dearing
elnnndrn@memphis.edu

Memphis 3.0

The Department of City and Regional Planning is playing a central role in one of the most important planning endeavors to be undertaken in Memphis in decades: Memphis 3.0, the city's first comprehensive planning effort since 1981. The UofM Design Collaborative, the departments research and outreach center, was selected to develop Memphis 3.0's district plans. These neighborhood-scale community character plans will build upon citywide vision and goal statements. The department's participation offers students an incredible opportunity to learn from practice while contributing to the development of policies that will guide Memphis into its third century. Students in Land Use Planning, Analysis for Community Planning, Comprehensive Planning Studio, and Design Collaborative Studio have lead stakeholder outreach and analysis, analyzed land use patterns, compiled neighborhood histories, prepared demographic profiles, and lead community workshops to contribute to the planning efforts.

To learn more about the CPR, contact :
Dr. Charlie Santo
casanto@memphis.edu.

Criminology and Criminal Justice (Hyperlink)

The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice is working on an interdisciplinary grant with faculty from Clinical Mental Health, Public Health, and UT Health Science Center to evaluate the use of neurofeedback therapy for the treatment of adolescents exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Dr. Zettler is evaluating the effectiveness of neurofeedback on outcomes including impulsivity, aggression, self-control, program compliance, and recidivism.

To learn more about CJ, contact:
Dr. Haley Zettler
hzettler@memphis.edu

HCD Fellowship

The HCD Fellowship program is funded by the City of Memphis' Division of Housing and Community Development and facilitated by the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy (SUAPP) at the University of Memphis. The competitive program places highly qualified graduate students with government and nonprofit agencies and organizations that are leading community development efforts in Memphis. The program seeks to support the work of selected placement agencies while enhancing the education of selected student fellows. Selected students are paired with a placement agency, where they work for 20 hours per week (at no cost to the placement agency). Click here to apply for an HCD Fellowship (link to https://www.memphis.edu/suapp/hcdfellowship/index.php).

2017-2018 HCD Annual Report (jpeg of report cover here, and link to the report)

SUAPP Global

Community Development Environmental Design in Sicily
Each summer faculty from Anthropology and City and Regional Planning lead a participatory-research field school in Sicily. Students work with community partners from the Simeto River Valley on projects that further the goals of the Simeto River Agreement. Examples of previous projects are available here:

2017 - Methodology
2017 - Zero Waste Focus
2016 - Historic Preservation and Reuse of Historic Train Station

For more information, contact :
Dr. Katherine Lambert-Pennington
almbrtpn@memphis.edu.

Social Work Paris Program
The Social Work in Paris summer study abroad course provides students with a comprehensive overview of Social Work in France, the issues facing society in France and Europe today, and how French social workers address them.

For more information contact Dr. Elena Delavega at mdlavega@memphis.edu.