Research Scholar Initiatives
IGPA’s Research Scholar Initiatives catalyze large-scale policy inquiries to undergird the development of policy decision making models by teams of scholars across the University of Illinois System and maximize public engagement and impact.
About
Since 1947, the Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA) has connected scholars across the University of Illinois System with legislators, civil servants, and key decision makers in Springfield, throughout the Land of Lincoln, and beyond. As the only System-level institute dedicated to policy engagement, we connect world-class research with the state’s needs—and we support policymakers in pursuing research-driven solutions.
IGPA’s Research Scholar Initiatives catalyze large-scale policy inquiries to undergird the development of policy decision making models by teams of scholars across the University of Illinois System and maximize public engagement and impact.
FY 2023 Research Scholar Initiatives
IGPA’s Research Scholar Initiatives catalyze large-scale policy inquiries to undergird the development of policy decision making models by teams of scholars across the University of Illinois System and maximize public engagement and impact.
FY 2023 Funded Research Scholar Initiatives

Cris Hughes
Clinical Associate Professor, UIUC Department of Anthropology
Jenny Davis
Citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, UIUC Associate Professor of Anthropology
and American Indian Studies & Director of the American Indian Studies Program
Krystiana Krupa
NAGPRA Program Officer, UIUC NAGPRA Office
Marynia Kolak
Assistant Professor, UIUC Department of Geography and Geographic
Information Science
Arielle Reich, MA
Ph.D. Student, UIUC, Department of Anthropology

MPI: Elizabeth (Betsy) Porter, JD
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois Chicago
School of Public Health, Health Policy and Administration
Affiliate faculty: University of Illinois Chicago Law School
MPI: Sage Kim, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Illinois Chicago
School of Public Health, Health Policy and Administration
Co-I: Vanessa Oddo, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois Chicago
Applied Health Sciences, Kinesiology and Nutrition
Co-I: Emily Stiehl, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois Chicago
School of Public Health, Health Policy and Administration
Co-I: Elizabeth Powers, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Department of Economics
For More Information about the Research scholar Initiatives please contact
Brenda Hixson (bwaller7@uillinois.edu).
About
Since 1947, the Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA) has connected scholars across the University of Illinois System with legislators, civil servants, and key decision makers in Springfield, throughout the Land of Lincoln, and beyond. As the only System-level institute dedicated to policy engagement, we connect world-class research with the state’s needs—and we support policymakers in pursuing research-driven solutions.
IGPA’s Research Scholar Initiatives catalyze large-scale policy inquiries to undergird the development of policy decision making models by teams of scholars across the University of Illinois System and maximize public engagement and impact.
FY 2022 Research Scholar Initiatives
IGPA’s Research Scholar Initiatives catalyze large-scale policy inquiries to undergird the development of policy decision making models by teams of scholars across the University of Illinois System and maximize public engagement and impact.
FY 2022 Funded Research Scholar Initiatives

This project engages teens as partners to research issues in their communities that impact their daily lives and then develop plans for action change to advocate with the appropriate policy organizations. Commonly termed youth participatory action research (YPAR), the project empowers teens to civic participation and begins their training as the next generation of engaged researchers.
Amy Leman
Professor, Assistant Professor, Agricultural Leadership Education, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Jacinda Dariotis
Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Aisha Griffith
Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Zachary Kennedy
Extension State Specialist, Community and Economic Development, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Ye Rang Park
Research Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mynda Tracy
4-H Youth Development Educator, Illinois Extension, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Housing code enforcement has been described as “law in action” – in this project, we evaluate local government rental property regulation and the extent to which code enforcement actions influence housing affordability, housing stability, and access to resource-rich neighborhoods. Using a combination of traditional policy evaluation techniques coupled with documentary video, we develop policy-informed narratives to share with local governments, housing professionals, and policymakers.
Andrew Greenlee
Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Sharon Legenza
Executive Director, Housing Action Illinois
For More Information about the Research scholar Initiatives please contact
Brenda Hixson (bwaller7@uillinois.edu).
About
Since 1947, the Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA) has connected scholars across the University of Illinois System with legislators, civil servants, and key decision makers in Springfield, throughout the Land of Lincoln, and beyond. As the only System-level institute dedicated to policy engagement, we connect world-class research with the state’s needs—and we support policymakers in pursuing research-driven solutions.
IGPA’s Research Scholar Initiatives catalyze large-scale policy inquiries to undergird the development of policy decision making models by teams of scholars across the University of Illinois System and maximize public engagement and impact.
Funded Scholar Initiatives
FY 2021 Research Scholar Initiatives
IGPA’s Research Scholar Initiatives catalyze large-scale policy inquiries to undergird the development of policy decision making models by teams of scholars across the University of Illinois System and maximize public engagement and impact.
FY 2021 Funded Research Scholar Initiatives

The Farm Bill Mapping Project uses existing public data to visualize agricultural and conservation policies in support of policy design efforts in the forthcoming 2023 Congressional Farm Bill reauthorization process. The project further combines statutory and regulatory interpretation with data and computation from the Policy Design Lab at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Eventually, the resulting public-facing mapping effort will demonstrate the statutory and regulatory provisions of the Farm Bill.
Jonathan Coppess
Director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program and Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Jong Lee
Deputy Associate Director, Software Directorate, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Christopher Navarro
Lead Research Programmer, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

How have changes in the work-force due to COVID-19 and shifts to work-from-home employment models impacted local government sales taxes and mass transit agencies’ revenues? This initiative seeks to provide data and methodologies that will help policymakers understand and react to the most significant change in the labor market in decades.
David Merriman
James J. Stukel Presidential Professor, Department of Public Administration, University of Illinois Chicago
Kenneth Kriz
Director, Institute for Illinois Public Finance and Distinguished Professor, School of Public Management and Policy, University of Illinois Springfield
Richard Funderburg
Associate Professor, School of Public Management and Policy, University of Illinois Springfield
Yonghong Wu
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois Chicago

Using innovative qualitative and quantitative research methods, this project will explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected mental health and vaccine uptake among children, families, and childcare providers. The research team will inform public health policy narratives and recommend messaging for mental health and vaccine uptake in the wake of COVID-19.
Jacinda Dariotis
Pampered Chef, Ltd., Endowed Chair in Family Resiliency, Professor and Director of the Family Resiliency Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Liza Berdychevsky
Associate Professor, Department of Recreation, Sport, & Tourism, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Brenda Koester
Associate Director, Family Resiliency Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Rebecca Smith
Associate Professor, Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Leona Yi-Fan Su
Associate Professor, Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, College of Media, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Brent McBride
Director of the Child Development Laboratory and Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Family Resiliency Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign