The Center for Community Studies at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development is hosting its fall conference Friday, Sept. 19, to showcase and discuss research on key topics affecting communities, including Nashville.
The conference will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Mayborn Building located on the Vanderbilt Peabody campus. It is free and open to the public.
"This year, there will be sessions on immigrants and community, youth violence prevention, housing, poverty, rural health, international topics, community outreach and various other community issues," Douglas Perkins, associate professor of human and organizational development and director of the center, said.
In addition to research presentations and discussions, the event will feature information booths with more than a dozen community organizations.
The conference was the brainchild of a Vanderbilt Ph.D. student who wanted to create a forum for community researchers to present their Nashville-based research.
"The Center for Community Studies Conference began about four years ago at the initiative of Cheri Hoffman, a student in Vanderbilt’s Ph.D. program in Community Research and Action, who was ‘wowed’ by seeing research presentations by other students from her own program at a national conference," Perkins said. "She returned wondering why she had to travel across the country to find out about the amazing community-based studies happening right here in Nashville. So she and a few other students organized the first CCS Conference. Since then, it has grown to include faculty as well as student researchers from multiple programs at Vanderbilt and other local institutions."
Download the full agenda at:
http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/Documents/pdf/ccs/2008CCSConferenceSchedule.pdf.
For more information about the Center for Community Studies, visit http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/x5285.xml or call (615) 322-8484.
Media Contact: Melanie Moran, (615) 322-NEWS
melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu