History
In the 1990s, the African American and Latino communities at UIC engaged in multiple initiatives to improve the presence of people of color and representation of their issues throughout the campus, its programs and curricula. As part of this, they asked the University to support the establishment of Institutes carrying out engaged research on the conditions and experiences of their own people, with a particular emphasis on policy and community. In response, UIC created a task force of African American, Latino and Asian American faculty to draft a proposal. The Task Force proposed the creation of an Institute within UIC that would facilitate policy relevant research on (and primarily by minority faculty) race/ethnicity, racism and public policy. The Institute would also assist with recruitment and development of faculty and students of color, and develop partnerships around policies and initiatives of advancement for communities of color. This was later reinforced by partnerships between UIC and surrounding underrepresented communities and leaders of color around their advancement and the development of programs and policies with an impact on such communities throughout the city, the metropolitan area and the State of Illinois.
UIC adopted the proposal and created the Institute in the late 1990s. Today, IRRPP is organized around a set of strategic priorities that combine policy-relevant scholarship with assistance in the development, recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty and students, maintaining close cooperation with and ownership of the Institute by the underrepresented community on campus, and providing services to the UIC campus, the City and Metropolitan Area of Chicago, and the underrepresented communit ies in general.
Under the leadership of Dr. Philip Bowman, IRRPP received permanent certification as a University Institute in October of 2004. Most recently, in academic year 2007-08, UIC conducted a review that highly praised the work of the Institute and recommended permanent financial support from UIC. As noted in the report:
"The evidence suggests that IRRPP plays a vibrant and important role not only in encouraging and stimulating research on race and public policy but also in supporting the broader diversity agenda of UIC... [IRRPP] can be seen as a community of scholars that provides ethnic minority faculty and students with a supportive 'home' for their intellectual endeavors. It provides a splendid example of the UIC approach of 'access to excellence.'"
IRRPP Governance
The Institute is structured as a campus-wide interdisciplinary research, policy and practice unit governed by an Executive Board and an Administrative Council and located in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. Chaired by the Provost, the Administrative Council includes the deans of Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Public Health, Social Work and Urban Planning and Policy and the Vice Chancellor for External Affairs. The Executive Board consists of faculty partners of IRRPP from a variety of disciplines throughout UIC's campus. Under the supervision of the Executive Board, the Director is responsible for ensuring that the Institute meets its overall mission and vision and works closely with its governors and partners to improve continuously its core programs and to develop new ones. The College of Urban Planning provides administrative support for the Institute.
