Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are very pleased to let you know that planning is well underway for the Ninth Annual Great Cities Winter Forum - The Open City - to be held on Friday, December 6, 2002 at UIC's Chicago Circle Center. Please stay in touch for additional details and registration information.

If you have timely information that you would like to share with others in the GCI community, please drop us a line at gcities@uic.edu or 312.996.8700. All the best to you.

David Perry Professor and Director	Lauri Alpern Associate Director

New Study to Determine Chicago Public School Needs After 9/11
Louise Cainkar, GCI Fellow, is working with the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations to examine needs in the Chicago Public Schools in the aftermath of the events of September 11. Cainkar is examining existing curricular content at the elementary and high school levels and making recommendations for further enhancements. She is collecting information on best practices nationwide and convening panels of Chicago teachers, curriculum writers, academics and public school officials to determine needs and next steps. The study is being funded by the Chicago Community Trust.

Contact: Louise Cainkar, GCI Fellow, 312-355-1224, cainkar@uic.edu.


Illinois Workforce Advantage Committed to Strong Communities
The goal of the State of Illinois' Illinois Workforce Advantage program (IWA) is to transform six distressed areas in Illinois into strong supportive communities. The Great Cities Institute and the Center for Urban Economic Development (UICUED) will collaborate with IWA Director Richard Kordesh on several community development projects in North Lawndale, Englewood and Humboldt Park. GCI and UICUED will engage faculty and students in evaluation and technical roles in support of IWA projects.

Contact: David Perry, Director & Professor, GCI; Interim Dean, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs, 312-355-3926, dperry@uic.edu.

Wise Guys Program Addresses Adolescent Pregnancy Issues
The University of Illinois at Chicago Neighborhoods Initiative (UICNI) is partnering with the Marcy Newberry Organization to implement a pilot of the Wise Guys program. Wise Guys is an adolescent pregnancy prevention program for males between the ages of 11-16. The program is designed to promote sexual responsibility in young men. The program began in early February and is targeted to serve approximately thirty males. UICNI anticipates assisting Marcy Newberry in securing funds to continue the Wise Guys program beyond the pilot stage.

Contact: Nancy Tartt, Director of Community Youth Services, UIC Neighborhoods Initiative, 312-996-4880, ntartt@uic.edu.

Calendar
Go Flames!
The UIC men's basketball team had its 2002 NCAA Tournament plans finalized when they learned they will meet the #2 Oklahoma Sooners at 11:30 a.m., on Friday, March 15, at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.
http://uicflames.fansonly.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031002aab.html

Reception and Open House During APA National Conference
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
The College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA) will host a reception and open house during the American Planning Association (APA) national conference. The reception will include live music, Chicago-style refreshments, student display expo and a college tour. The event will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at 412 South Peoria Street, Chicago, Illinois. A UIC shuttle bus will pick up guests from the Hyatt Regency Hotel lobby at 5:30 p.m. and will return to the hotel at 7:30 p.m. Please RSVP to Catherine Sanders at csande4@uic.edu, 312-996-2161.

Ninth Annual Great Cities Winter Forum
The Open City
Friday, December 6, 2002
Chicago Circle Center
Speakers and participants from diverse backgrounds in government, the nonprofit sector, business and academia will discuss and debate The Open City as a site of immigration and opportunity, cultural and aesthetic innovation, democratic governance and leadership and technological change and development and educational progress. More details to come next month!

GCI Faculty Scholar Spotlight
Each month we are pleased to introduce you to one of the GCI faculty scholars spending the year with us.

Dr. Nilda Flores-Gonzalez is an Assistant Professor in the UIC Department of Sociology and the Latin American and Latino Studies Program. Her work focuses on race, ethnicity and identity among United States Latinos. Her research project examines how school activists were branded as terrorist supporters, leading to the dismantling of school reform programs at a Chicago high school. Dr. Flores-Gonzalez is also conducting research on "El Paso Boricua:
Claiming a Puerto Rican Space in Chicago," focusing on the reasons and meaning attached to the development of a Puerto Rican gateway project in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. In addition to her forthcoming book, School Kids, Street Kids: Identity and Educational Paths, Dr. Flores-Gonzalez has published in the Latino Studies Journal, Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization, Journal of Poverty and the Multicultural Encyclopedia of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States. She has presented at the Puerto Rican Studies Association, the Pacific Sociologist Association, and the American Sociological Association and served as Associate Book Review Editor for the American Journal of Sociology. Dr. Flores-Gonzalez holds a Master's and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago.