UNC-Charlotte Influencing Diversity In The Charlotte Community

NEW DATE: 2nd Thursday of the month
Thursday, February 11, 2010
12 noon–1:30 pm

NEW LOCATION:
Levine Museum of the New South
200 E. Seventh Street, Charlotte, NC  28202*

Both the geography and the architecture departments at UNC-Charlotte have prioritized diversity initiatives throughout the 2009-2010 academic year. All of these undertakings are strongly linked to the Charlotte community.

This month's program meeting for February will feature a panel discussion with panelist from the geography and the architecture departments at UNC-Charlotte focusing on the Urban plight diversity issues linked to the Charlotte community.

The UNCC Geography Department’s Dr. Janni Sorensen and her research assistant, Liz Shockey, work extensively with low-income neighborhoods throughout Charlotte which have been severely impacted by the foreclosure crisis. Their focus is on capacity building and community engagement for both adult and youth residents.

About the Panel:

Dr. Janni Sorensen is assistant professor in the department of geography and earth sciences at UNC-Charlotte. Her research explores community development, diversity and the urban planning process. She is particularly interested in participatory neighborhood planning with low income minority communities. She also explores the role of university-community partnerships as a vehicle for change; both in terms of tangible change in the community and in terms of service-learning’s effect on students. She holds a PhD from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007 and a MUP from the University of Aalborg, Denmark, 1997.  

Liz Shockey is pursuing a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Analysis in UNCC’s geography department. She holds a research assistant position as Community Liaison under the direction of Dr. Sorensen and the City of Charlotte’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Her research focuses on the social impacts of urban restructuring. Liz possesses bachelor’s degrees in both Social Studies Education and Law and Society and graduated from Purdue University in 2006.

Other panelist from UNC-Charlotte TBD 

Lunch is provided so please RSVP to admin@c-dcc.org by February 8, 2010.

Make your reservations now to join the Diversity Council of the Carolinas for this exciting and relevant program!

*Two hours of free parking are included with the luncheon. Attendees/members should use the 7th Street Garage, adjacent to the Levine Museum. Bring their parking ticket to the Museum’s visitor reception desk where it will be validated.