Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We were very pleased to have hosted, Marie Smyth, Chief Executive and Founder of the Institute for Conflict Research in Belfast, Northern Ireland and currently Fellow at the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington D.C. Dr. Smyth came to GCI primarily to speak to the students of the Contested Cities course. As an international expert on the humanitarian impact of youth and armed conflict, she provided the students and others who attended a subsequent discussion with a poignant and timely perspective on issues of conflict, racism, sectarianism, engaged research and peace processes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We are committed to continuing to provide a forum for issues such as these at GCI.

David Perry Professor and Director	Lauri Alpern Associate Director

Voorhees Center Celebrates 25 Years of Research in Action
Join the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center in celebrating its 25th anniversary on April 3 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. At 5:30 pm there will be a ceremony to recognize current and past students and community partners through the years. Please RSVP by March 28.

Esteleta Cameron, 312.996.6336, Cameron@uic.edu.

New Online Women's Network E-workshops
The GCI Professional Education Program presents a series of e-workshops designed to facilitate women's growth, development and advancement. These 2-week interactive learning experiences are filled with practical, idea-packed group discussions and reflective activities. Participants learn tips, techniques and strategies for making choices, defining goals and mapping out a plan to achieve their aspirations. The first e-workshop will be from March 31st - April 11th. Go to http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/gci/programs/profed/own/ for online registration.

Renee Welch, Visiting Senior Associate, 312.996.8078, rwelch1@uic.edu.

Service-Learning at UIC Seeks Sustainable Roots
Service-learning is an important component at any engaged university. While the term is not familiar to many at UIC, service-learning initiatives in the classroom, where learning is combined with service to the community, are found in every college and department on campus. GCI is participating in a university-wide proposal to formalize and implement service-learning in a systematic, sustainable way at UIC. As a first step, a proposal is being submitted by April 1 to the federal Corporation for National Service to support a pilot certificate program in service-learning for undergraduate students as well as a lifelong service-learning program for UIC graduates.

Lauri Alpern, Associate Director, 312.413.3377, lauri@uic.edu.

Calendar
UIC Neighborhoods Initiative Partners Council Meetings (East Side)

Chang Lee, Program Coordinator, 312.996.4617, clee10@uic.edu.

People
In early March GCI Director David Perry presented two seminars at the Universidad de Oviedo in Asturias, Spain. The seminars entitled, "The Splintering Metropolis" and "Four Cases of Regional Action in American Metropolitan Areas" addressed regional development planning in the United States.

GCI Fellow Marty Jaffe is working with the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission on water supply strategies to initiate a new supply framework plan for the region. On March 6th he was also a panelist for a discussion of Chicago planning and zoning initiatives, sponsored by the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF). The lecture kicks off the CAF's Invisible City: Planning for Chicago's Future exhibit, to be held at the CAF's lecture center on S. Michigan Ave from March 6th to April 27th. More info at http://www.architecture.org/ under the exhibits hyperlink.

Former GCI Faculty Scholar Marcia Farr is awaiting the publication of her newly edited book Ethnolinguistic Chicago: Language and Literacy in the City's Neighborhoods due in April. The book focuses on language and literacy practices in many cultures. A second volume, Latino Language and Literacy in Ethnolinguistic Chicago is due to go to the publisher next month. For more information contact Marcia Farr at 312.413.2231 or email farr.18@osu.edu.

Visiting Senior Associate Renee Welch was invited to present at the 2003 Illinois Distance Learning Conference in Springfield on March 27. Her topic is "From Isolation to Collaboration; The Online Instructor as Part of the Course Delivery Team."

The Council for International Exchange of Scholars has approved Former Faculty Scholar and Associate Professor of Education Irma M. Olmedo to serve as an on-demand Fulbright Senior Specialist. This program assigns scholars to lecture in overseas academic institutions on their research and teaching in the United States. Professor Olmedo presented several lectures on her work in the Free University and Humboldt University in Berlin last summer.

GCI Research Assistants Ginger White and Kali Sipes have been accepted into the Great Cities London Chicago Study Abroad Program and will be studying there this summer.

Congratulations go to Associate Professor of Sociology and former GCI Faculty Scholar Sharon Collins who is becoming the adoptive mom of a 7 year old daughter and Assistant Business Manager Elbert Gordon who is the new father of Caran Elbert Gordon.

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

New to the Midwest and Chicago, Linda Kaste is an Associate Professor and the Director of Predoctoral Dental Public Health at the UIC college of Dentistry. Linda's background is rooted in dental practice with a community focus. Her work with GCI this year is titled "UIC Community Partnerships: Dental Workforce Development." The research addresses the oral health access needs of Illinois' underserved populations and targets future providers of such care. The main question addressed is: can the curriculum in dental schools be developed so that future dental practitioners are willing to create community sensitive private dental practice and are also able to assume community leadership roles? She will be discussing her work at the Faculty Scholar Seminar on Wednesday April 9 at the GCI in the large conference room.