Centers & Initiatives
Center for Urban Policy and the Environment
John L. Krauss, Director
The Center for Urban Policy and the Environment was created in 1992 within the School of Public and Environmental Affairs on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus as the cornerstone of a strategy to position Indiana University as a national leader in urban and environmental policy. The Center works with state and local governments and their associations, neighborhood and community organizations, and business and civic groups to identify issues, analyze options, and develop the capacity to respond to challenges. The Center brings to Indiana cities and communities the expertise of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs faculty, as well as the considerable talents of our professional staff and graduate students.
Since 1992, the Center has completed more than 270 projects with and for public, private, and nonprofit institutions in the Indianapolis region, across the state of Indiana, and in other states and countries. These projects fall within several areas of public policy, including central city development, criminal justice, growth management, waste disposal, government and finance, health care, and water resources.
The Center for Urban Policy and the Environment was named by the Indiana General Assembly to provide staff to the Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (IACIR). Established by the Indiana General Assembly in 1995, the IACIR works to create effective communication, cooperation, and partnerships between the federal, state, and local units of government to improve the delivery of services to the citizens of Indiana.
Center for Health Policy
Eric R. Wright, Director
The Center for Health Policy was created in 2007 to address the critical need for information to educate health care policy makers in Indiana. The mission of the CHP is to collaborate with state and local government, as well as public and private health care organizations in health policy and program development and to conduct high quality program evaluation and applied research on critical health policy-related issues. While the CHP is new to SPEA and IUPUI, CHP faculty and staff aspire to serve as a bridge between academic health researchers and state and local government as well as health care organizations and community leaders. CHP leaders have established working partnerships through a variety of projects with government and foundation support. Among other projects, the CHP is leading efforts to review health care delivery systems in Indiana.
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
Eugene R. Tempel (etempel@iupui.edu)
Located on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), the School of Liberal Arts' Center on Philanthropy and SPEA Indianapolis collaborate to help enrich the lives and futures of people in the state of Indiana and around the world. The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University increases the understanding of philanthropy and improves its practice through programs in research, teaching, public service, and public affairs. SPEA faculty are leaders among the IUPUI philanthropic studies faculty and helped develop the first Ph.D. in philanthropic
Office of International Community Development
William M. Plater
As a joint office of the IU Center on Philanthropy, SPEA's Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, and the IUPUI Office of International Affairs, International Community Development (ICD) seeks to promote international civic engagement and civil society in central Indiana by aligning and integrating University projects and programs with community initiatives and opportunities. The focus of ICD is on enhancing the interaction of non-governmental and non-profit organizations with governmental and for-profit entities in their combined contributions to the international future of the region - to making Indianapolis one of the world's best places to live, to work and to learn by the mid-part of the century.
The impact of economic globalization, communication technologies, and world interdependency in a growing range of issues such as immigration, health, climate, environment, and human development requires that local communities consider their place in international as well as regional and national affairs. Local issues are increasingly international issues, and communities can both learn from each other and coordinate their actions to achieve common ends. At the same time, universities worldwide are uniquely qualified to provide advice, apply expertise, and promote globally competent citizenship through academic diplomacy - creating intentional, planned linkages between universities to help their respective communities prosper in a rapidly changing world.