Learning to support women and better understand the challenges they face in the workplace.

Women in Leadership: Training the next generation of managers

Posted on March 18, 2018 by Leslie Wells

The rise of the #MeToo movement, wage gap issue, and paid-family leave debate have sparked a shift in workplace management discussion. Marshawn Wolley, SPEA’s director of community engagement and strategic initiatives, uses recent headlines to help the next generation of leaders examine how to effectively manage diversity, including the role of supporting women in the workplace.

Through SPEA’s Managing Workforce Diversity course (V443), management majors and other students learn how to appreciate differences among employees and incorporate an understanding of workforce diversity into their management style.

“If you’re leading an organization that serves a diverse population, you absolutely need women in leadership,” Wolley says. “They’re going to have sensitivities to issues that men may not have.”

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“This was my Damascus Road”

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Leslie Wells

Students in J331 Corrections course visit the Indiana Women's Prison — Students in J331 Corrections course visit the Indiana Women’s Prison

On a misty Friday afternoon, students in Robert Bingham’s J331 Corrections course gather outside the Indiana Women’s Prison. They’ve traded their normal classroom for a unique behind-the-scenes look at the prison, its programs, and a rare opportunity to talk to inmates.

“These lessons can’t be taught through a book or a lecture,” Bingham says. “Students have to experience this first-hand.”

They walk through a high-security metal door into the visitation room. Michelle Waire, a criminal justice major, and Matthew Behrmann, a public safety management major, aren’t sure what to expect. They both hope to walk away with better insight into the criminal justice system.

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Brackets For Good, Research for All

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Leslie Wells

Huddled around a kitchen table, Cali Curley, Jamie Levine Daniel and Marlene Walk discuss their latest research project. They’re focused on the innovative concept of competitive philanthropy.

“We typically don’t talk about nonprofits in terms of competition, despite the fact that they are competing for resources,” Levine Daniel says. “While nonprofits often have a negative view of competition, we wanted to explore its true impact.”

The team of SPEA researchers now have their chance, thanks to the charitable organization Brackets For Good. Each March, Brackets For Good hosts online, March Madness bracket-style fundraising tournaments in cities around the country. Participating organizations all try to out-fundraise the others, with the winner receiving an additional $10,000. Since its inception, Brackets For Good has helped nonprofits raise $6,350,000. (more…)

MURDER IN AMERICA Returns

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Leslie Wells

Kenna Quinet has spent 35 years of her life studying homicide. “As long as there have been human beings, there have been homicides,” she says.

She’s gathered data and case files for decades, worked on cold case investigations, and recently became a certified medicolegal death investigator. She and her co-authors literally just re-wrote the book on homicide, with the fifth edition of “The Will to Kill” textbook set to release in April.

Now, after a nearly five-year hiatus, she’s bringing back one of SPEA’s most popular courses for the Fall 2018 semester. “Murder in America” takes an in-depth look at homicide laws, data, theory, and intervention strategies. The class also focuses on different types of homicide: domestic, serial, mass, medical, school, and cults. (more…)

SPEA alumna receives prestigious Maynard K. Hine Award

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Leslie Wells

Kathy Koehler shows off her SPEA pride everywhere she goes.

Kathy Koehler’s passion for SPEA is as contagious as her positive personality. Even her bright red Mini Cooper is branded with “SPEON,” the insider nickname SPEA alumni have given themselves.

Yet Koehler’s commitment to SPEA runs much deeper than a personalized license plate or a unifying nickname. Her lasting link and service to SPEA has earned Koehler a spot among this year’s recipients of the Maynard K. Hine Award.

Created in 1974, the prestigious award, named for IUPUI’s first chancellor, recognizes alumni who have made a significant impact on campus. Koehler will receive her bronze medal on Thursday during the IUPUI Alumni Leaders Dinner.

“Being nominated and selected as a recipient of the Maynard K. Hine award is humbling,” Koehler said. “I truly believe I get more from my work with SPEA than I could ever give back. I am incredibly grateful for this honor.” (more…)