WSU Urban Studies Blog

WORCESTER – Worcester State University's Latino Education Institute, in partnership with its Department of Urban Studies, was awarded a $200,000 grant from The Boston Foundation and The Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation to examine post-secondary outcomes for Latino males in five Massachusetts communities –Worcester, Lawrence, Boston, Springfield and Holyoke. Called “Pathways to Higher Education: Opportunities and Outcomes for Latino Young Men in Five Massachusetts Communities,” the project’s directors will use qualitative and quantitative approaches to improve understanding of the many circumstances that affect the decision-making of young Latino males relative to career and educational opportunities. The researchers will collect and analyze data, which is expected to inform the state's policies on how best to close the "achievement gap" -- the persistent and well-documented disparity in educational outcomes between people who come from low-opportunity environments versus

At the Friends of the Worcester Public Library book sale today, Dr. Conroy went shopping for books he will donate to CityLab.   For $4, he got: William Bradford, Of Plimouth Plantation, 1620-1647 Frank A. Brown and Beverly K Goodale, West Boylston William O. Hultgren et. Al., Worcester 1880-1920 Mary P. Ryan, Cradle of the Middle Class:   The Family in Onieda County, New York, 1790-1865 Mary P. Ryan, Women in Public:   Between Banners and Ballots, 1825-1880 Cary D. Wintz, Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance James Sterling Young, The Washington Community, 1800-1828 For an additional $16 in the regular WPL book store , he bought: Nicholas Gage, A Place for Us (a memoir of a Greek immigrant who grew up in Worcester) J. Joseph Huthmacher, Massachusetts People and Politics Rae MacCollum Spencer, The Gift of Imaginative Leadership, a biography of Harry Galpin Stoddard, Affectionately called “Mr. Worcester” Ronald Story, The For

Summer I 2014 Class Offerings Department of Urban Studies   UR 101    Introduction to Urban Studies                            LASC:   HBS and USW A broad contextual overview of urban life that examines the relationship of people to their environment from an interdisciplinary perspective.   A great first class in this dynamic academic field.   MW       9:00-12:00        Alan Gordon                 3 credits           S 320   UR 191       ST:   Worcester Politics/Urban Political Systems   This class explores 20th century American urban political systems by diving deeply into the history of the Worcester government and politics. Through reading, discussion, and research projects, the class will examine the original city government (including the 100 years before the current City Manager system) to today with the bulk of our attention focusing on the period between 1900 and 2000.   TR         6:00-9:00           Dr. Thomas Conroy      3 credits        

On April 16, 2014, WSU hosted its annual Celebration of Scholarship and Creativity, and the Department of Urban Studies turned out in force. With more than 20 graduate and undergraduate students joining the department faculty and staff to participate, the department presented one talk (Prof. Gordon) and a half-dozen posters (one that featured 3 different projects).   Pictures of the day are at the right and the poster/presentation abstracts are below.  DIGNIFY AFRICA MOVEMENT: REDEFINING AFRICA Shiko Gathuo, Ph.D. Ask most people what they know about Africa, and they will narrate an inevitable litany of ills: ethnic conflicts and civil wars; famine and widespread starvation; HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; savagery and exotic traditions; despair and hopelessness. Africa is not only the butt of jokes; people are apt to make stereotypical statements about the continent without giving thought to either the truthfulness or the consequences of their statements. True, Afr

Even though it's still cold out there, the days are getting longer and they're slowly warming up.  At least, we hope they are.   But in the Department of Urban Studies, we're also making preparations for this year's growing season at the WSU Garden for All Ages.  Members of the garden team have been meeting all semester and now they're putting their plans into motion. They've installed small greenhouses in Chandler Magnet School and Bet Shalom Apartments, and they're working with students, teachers, and community members to stock them with seedlings in anticipation of the warmer days.   At left (or below depending on your browser), Urban Studies student Tyler Levine works with a Bet Shalom resident installing the first of the greenhouse seedlings.  We're anticipating a great year in the garden.  If you are interested in learning more or helping out, drop us a line at UrbanStudies@worcester.edu .  

Urban Studies students Dannielle Morrow and Nick Beaudoin (pictured at the right), along with Dr. Thomas Conroy, began their year-long fellowships with the National Science Foundation, Art of Science Learning this weekend.   The project has three national "incubator cities"  across the country,  each working on a separate civil problem. San Diego is working on water resources; Chicago is working on urban nutrition, and the Worcester incubator is working on transportation.  The first session was at the Ecotarium, a local NSF partner.  Other sessions will be held at Clark University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.   For more information, click for a Worcester Telegram article about it. 

New CityLab Report Urban Studies faculty and students have recently released a new CityLab report, Suspension in Worcester:  A Continuing Conversation .   Written by Dr. Thomas Conroy and Dr. Madeline Otis Campbell with Urban Studies students Dannielle Morrow and Jennifer Velez, the report explores the reasons behind a suspension disparity in Worcester Public Schools.  In that disparity, Latino students, who comprise 38% of the WPS population receive 53% of the total system suspensions.  The report solicited input from students, parents, teachers, and principals to better understand the story behind the statistics.  The Vincent "Jake" Powers CityLab is a research instiute and archives housed in and managed by the Department of Urban Studies.  Its mission is to engage in informative projects with and for the people, groups, and organizations of Central Massachusetts about topics of interest to their lives and the world around them.  Student To Present Paper at Confe

Congratulations to two alums on their recent endeavors:  Katie Donovan, a 1996 department graduate who works in the City of Worcester Inspectional Services Office, will be honored in March with one of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau's Thomas S. Green Public Service Awards .  Elizabeth Malone, Class of 2011, has been accepted into the graduate program in  Public Humanities  at Brown University for next fall.    If you have any updates or news we can share with the department, current students, and other grads, send a message to one of the faculty members or to urbanstudies@worcester.edu .