Stevenson Center students and faculty serve communities around the world. The Center supports three graduate programs: the Peace Corps Fellows Program, the Applied Community & Economic Development Fellows Program, and the Peace Corps Master’s International Program. Students earn master’s degrees in anthropology, applied economics, kinesiology and recreation, political science, or sociology, each with an interdisciplinary sequence in applied community/economic development. Students employ their research skills through a capstone project or a thesis, often related to their required field experience. Students also investigate important community issues during their year on campus.
Launched in 2013, this collection is a work in progress, with new students adding their latest research while staff members gradually fill in alumni contributions. If you would like to be included in the Stevenson Center collection, please contact ISUReD@ilstu.edu.
Submissions from 2013
Being a Change-Agent in the Context of International Cross-Cultural Community Development Work, Nicolette Slagle
The Innocent Face of Rights: An Exploration of Children’s Rights and Its Influence on Community Development in the Dominican Republic, Hillary Anne Smith
Submissions from 2012
Food Insecurity in Bloomington-Normal: How a Grocery Cooperative Might Help Meet the Needs of Low-Income Residents, Nichole Brants; Emma Healy; Raina Kirchner; Jeff Koch; Ben McNair; Aaron Tester; Ashley Toenjes,; Alex Trimble; and Dave Warren
Uplift and Blame: Minority Parents in the Discourse of Professional Educators, Katie Mitchell
Ethnic Diversity And Poverty: A Dynamic Panel Study Of Illinois Counties, Ambuj Neupane
Closures and Consolidation: Schools, Farms, and Population Decline in Rural Illinois, Eric Porter
Fiscal Decentralization and Its Effect on Poverty Evidence from Panel Data on the lower 48 American States, Nicholas Valaris
Submissions from 2011
The Effect of Economic Freedom on Workers' Remittances to Labor Sending Countries, Lloyd Banwart
Reducing Our Waste in Bloomington-Normal, IL, Ashley Conrad; Alyssa Curran; Phillip Dawson; Tim Glaza; Lauren Karplus; Greg King; Amber Madden; Dane Myers; Ambuj Neupane; Nancy Ouedraogo; Elizabeth Rardin; Katie Saunders; Robyn Savacool; Carolyn Schulte; Danielle Shtraus,; Kate Slisz; Andrew Smolski,; Luke Tervola,; and Jenna Williams
Catching a Cold: A Look at the Expected Contagion Effect of Neighboring Income Inequality, Jared Dellinger
Social Capital in Senegal: Bane or Boom?, Laura Livesay
The Continuing Development of the NGO Sector in Kyrgyzstan: Experience from one NGO in Naryn KG, Brad Pribe
Married and Cohabiting Men's Extra-Dyadic Relationships in Sub-Saharan Africa: Assessing Two Health Behavior Models, Jared L. Ulschmid
Strong Ties and Strong Influences: Social Networks and HIV Prevention, Nicole M. Wengerd
Darle El Pecho: A Qualitative Exploration of Mexican Immigrant Mothers' Experience With Breastfeeding, Tessa Zevallos
Submissions from 2010
A Community in Bloom: An affordable housing needs assessment of West Bloomington, Margaret L. Anderson, Lloyd Banwart, David F. Becker, Dana Bulba, Jared Dellinger, Mimi duong, Julie Ornee, Katie Mitchell, Andrew Piotrowski, Hillary Smith, Dustin Stoltz, Mandy Swartzendruber, Niko Valaris, and Katie Weber
The Shifting American Community and the Rise of Social Media: Exploring Social Media in Grassroots Non-Profits, Casandra Fritzsche
State Versus Ethnic Identification in Tibati, Cameroon, Brian Hillery
A Case Study: The assessment and evaluation of the inaugural Multicultural Leadership Program of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, Christine Holmes
Economic Growth and Social Development, Janelle Jones
Submissions from 2009
Making Partnerships Count: A Case Study: The Role of Social Capital in the 2009 Homeless Count in Suburban Cook County, Jessica Aleksy
Measuring the Effectiveness of the Statewide Initiative: “The Maturing of Illinois”, Joseph Alustiza
An African-American Resources and Needs Assessment of the West Bloomington Area, Phase 1, Karishma Amatya, Nicholas Beaty, Jamie Boban, Joanna Bossi, Tyler Curtis, Casandra Fritzsche, Andrew Griffin, David Johnson, Sasha Miranda, Dana Overman, Emily Putnam, Jared Ulschmid, and Tessa Zevallos
Impact of Microfinance and Remittances on the Livelihood of Nepali People, Bishal B. Kasu
Local Food Systems in Central Illinois: An Economic Impact Analysis, Joseph Lauchlan and Viktor Schrader
Attitude, Money, or Administration? Barriers to Clean Energy Expansions in Kankakee, Illinois, Adrienne Martin
The Role of Language and Politics: A Look at National-Identity Formation in Eastern Ukraine, Andrew Maxwell
Submissions from 2008
Assets and Needs Assessment of Senior Residents in the West Bloomington Neighborhood, Case Bell, Melissa Busher, Amy Deal, Ted Fischer, Christine Holmes, Joseph Lauchlan, Shane Peterson, Janelle Jones, Eric Porter, Brad Pribe, and Viktor Shrader
Mainstream and Alternative News in Seattle: A Comparative Media Frame Analysis of WTO Protest Coverage, Richard Feffer S.
The Other Side of Metamorphosis: An Exploratory Study of How Partners of Transsexuals Experience Transition, Kara Harvey
Differences Lead to Differences: Diversity and Income Inequality Across Countries, Michael Hotard
Submissions from 2007
Income Growth in U.S. States: Is it Pro-Poor?, Brandon Curtis
Financial Liberalization and Money Demand in Mauritius, Rebecca Hodel
Making TIFWorks Work for Chicago: An examination of Illinois Workforce Development Programs, Amanda Hudson
The Impact of HIV on Economic Development, Kate Jones-Smith
Nuestros Niños: Child Care Needs Assessment for the Latino Population in Bloomington-Normal, Andrew Maxwell, Joseph Alustiza, Sean Moore, Mary Stephen, Sanjay Soman, Andrew Kasprzak, Brian Hillery, Kara Harvey, Michael Hotard, Rebecca Bliss, Brandon Curtis, Adrienne Martin, Bishal Kasu, and Jessica Aleksy
Mikva Challenge: Are We Misleading Ourselves? A Long-Term Evaluation Framework for an Organization in Transition, Jeremy Richart
ASPIRA Inc. of Illinois: A tale of educational success?, Christian Rivera-Perez
An Analysis of the Application of Club Good Models to Determine Carrying Capacity of National Parks, Rachel Smith
Minimum Wage as a Poverty Reducing Measure, Kevin Souza
An Analysis of the Economic Impact of Biodiesel Production in Illinois, Kelly Uphoff
Serving the Young: A Volunteer’s Assessment of Youth Development Non-Governmental Organizations in Northern Kazakhstan, Daniel Wienecke
Submissions from 2006
The Impact of Downtown Revitalization on Residential Home Prices: Evidence from Normal, Illinois, Craig T. Schlatter
Renewing the Community? Pork Barrelling? Maintaining the Status Quo? What's the Agenda?, K Lavon Wright
Theses/Dissertations from 2005
Where the Green Money Grows: Assessing the Prospects of Ecotourism in Gabon, Daniel Chand
The Value of Nonmaterial Wealth: A Critique of Microcredit in the United States and It's Ability to Empower Women, Melanie L. Parkhurst
The ACCESS Miami Model-- Shifting the Paradigm A Case Study in Sustainable Community Development through Partnerships and Community Resource Maximization, Danny Santivasci
Submissions from 2004
Community Development in Rural Illinois: Lessons Learned, Emily Intveld
Submissions from 2003
Feminist Consciousness and Social Capital: Bonds, Breaks, and Bridges, Beverly A. Beyer
Experiencing Homelessness in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois: Resources and Needs for Shelter and Supportive Services, Beverly A. Beyer and Sharon M. Mills
Organizational Accomplishments & Challenges of the Milwaukee Community Service Corps, Jay T. Brennan
From Theory to Practice: Developing and Implementing an Asset-building Program for Milwaukee Public Housing Residents, Stephanie Montgomery
Submissions from 2001
“ Do the Attitudes of Policy Implementers Affect the Implementation of the Community Service Policy at a Southern Illinois County Housing Authority?” A Case Study, Bernadette Zayas Lorenzo