Fellowship helps students learn to translate research for everyday use

Students learn to bring research to more people through communication

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Leslie Wells

A woman stands in front of a stone wall, smiling, wearing a blue floral blazer and white tank top. — O’Neill MPA candidate Pamela Guerrero was selected as a Center for Cultural Affairs Fellow, learning how to communicate academic research to everyday audiences.

Learn more about the Association for Cultural Economics International’s annual conference through the Center for Cultural Affairs.

Academic research can influence laws, how organizations and communities operate, and the decisions people make each day. But that only happens if the research is relevant and relatable, connecting people to the topic in ways they understand.

Pamela Guerrero, an O’Neill MPA candidate, admits that translating complex research studies or policy into everyday language can be difficult.

“I can be really focused on specific details that may matter to me but don’t matter to anyone else,” she says laughing. “Finding that balance between too much information and the information that’s relevant to the audience is where I struggle.”

That’s why an opportunity from the Center for Cultural Affairs caught her attention. It was a short-term fellowship focused on learning to translate research and make the information accessible to everyone.

“Translating research requires that you both understand the source material and can distill it in ways that can be effectively communicated to broad audiences,” explains CCA Faculty Director and Paul H. O’Neill Professor Doug Noonan.

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Tamra Wright: Understanding systems to help individuals

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Leslie Wells

A woman is smiling while standing on a sidewalk wearing a navy blue cardigan and blue blouse. — O’Neill Lecturer Tamra Wright

When O’Neill lecturer Tamra Wright was a child, she wanted to become a lawyer focused on civil rights and helping others.

“My parents’ upbringing involved socioeconomic challenges,” she says. “They were always very open with me about their lived experiences and never hid it. But they also emphasized the support and love they had from a village of caring people around them.”

Her parents’ pasts and the values they instilled in her helped shape Wright’s future. She’s worked in government as a liaison for work assistance programs, in nonprofits serving vulnerable youth, and in higher education both supporting students from underserved and marginalized backgrounds and educating organizations on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Wright initially joined O’Neill School in a position that combined teaching with administrative responsibilities focused on DEI initiatives. Over time, her position transitioned into primarily teaching. Her courses fill a unique role within the school, examining topics where public policy and criminal justice meet.

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Pierre Atlas: Public policy career options are endless

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Leslie Wells

A man stands in a hallway lined by windows. He's wearing a maroon plaid shirt and glasses. — O’Neill Senior Lecturer Pierre Atlas.

Senior Lecturer Pierre Atlas’ work bridges O’Neill’s two worlds. He teaches in the school’s Public Affairs program as well as in its Criminal Justice program. His courses focus on everything from terrorism and gun culture to community structure and urban policy.

“Most people think of public policy as working in government at some level, but public policy is so much broader than being a government official,” he explains.

Atlas points to the nonprofit and private sectors. He says the two play major roles in shaping policy because they’re the advocates and interest groups that help form policy for everyone.

“Government can’t do it alone,” he stresses. “Some of the most effective public policy involves cross-sector collaboration between the public, private, and third—or nonprofit and civil society—sectors. Some of the big problems facing society—what are known as ‘wicked problems’—often require input and even joint decision-making and implementation from all three sectors. I teach a graduate seminar in our MPA program on collaborative governance, which deals exactly with this.”

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O’Neill’s Emily Crump fundraising foundation began with mother

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Leslie Wells

Woman with straight brown hair is sitting in a backwards chair. Her chin is on hand and she's smiling. — Emily Crump (BSPA’23) was named Chancellor’s Scholar and Outstanding Public Affairs Student for 2023.

O’Neill Management major Emily Crump has two new accolades as she moves toward graduation. Faculty at O’Neill IUPUI selected her as the Outstanding Student in the Public Affairs program. She also was named a 2022–23 IUPUI Chancellor’s Scholar for the O’Neill School.

“I was completely shocked,” she admits. “I had no idea I was nominated, so it was quite a surprise.”

The Chancellor’s Scholar Award is a university-level honor based on academic achievement for the top student in each school.

“I’m so honored and humbled,” she adds. “It makes me reflect on my four years here—the hard days and the victories—and all that I’ve learned from those days. I would not be in this position had it not been for the mentors at O’Neill and in my personal life who encouraged and supported me. This is an opportunity to show them I can now invest in others just as they invested in me.”

A woman stands in her commencement cap and gown, holding an award paper. Her mother is standing next to her wearing a blue dress. — Emily Crump (R) stands with her mother after receiving the Chancellor’s Scholar Award in May 2023.

Crump hopes to do that by working in the nonprofit field. It’s a dream that began well before she ever set foot on the IUPUI campus.

“Honestly, it started with my mom,” she says.

Crump’s mother is the director of finance for the Hancock County Children’s Choir, a nonprofit organization.

“I got to watch her go through the process of starting this organization, and saw how fulfilled she was in that role,” she recalls.

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Katherine Shr receives Plater Medallion for Civic Engagement

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Leslie Wells

A woman sits at a table with a black background behind her. She's wearing a green jacket and holding a medallion. — Katherine Shr (BSPA’23) received the William M. Plater Civic Engagement Medallion.

In May 2023, Katherine Shr finished an academic marathon: completing two bachelor’s degrees—one in Civic Leadership and another in Psychology—plus an anthropology minor in Cultural Diversity.

But Katherine’s accomplishments extend well beyond academics, including significant involvement in Sigma Psi Zeta’s philanthropic efforts on the local and national levels during the past four years. That work focused on addressing gender-based violence and led Katherine to related efforts, such as joining IUPUI’s chapter of “It’s on Us” and the university’s Undergraduate Student Government.

Katherine also worked with the Multicultural Leadership Empowerment Program through IUPUI’s Multicultural Center teaching cultural competency workshops, led Alternative Break Programming with Student Affairs, and served as Advocacy chair for the Midwest Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Student Union (MAASU).

“I’ve always just tried to help out wherever and whenever I’m needed,” Katherine says.

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