Undergraduate Catalog 2009-2011
Center for Public Policy and Social Research
The Center for Public Policy and Social Research (CPPSR) was
founded in 2003 through the merger of the Center for Social Research,
established in 1992, and the Center for Public Policy and Practical Politics, established
in 2000. Designated as a Connecticut Higher Education Center of Excellence,
CPPSR is dedicated to enriching the quality of Connecticut's
public policy, public service, University outreach, community engagement, and
applied research in Connecticut.
CPPSR provides a wide range of informational resources, training, research, and
consulting services to communities, municipal and state government, and
nonprofit organizations. CPPSR develops, facilitates, and supports faculty and
student projects, which provide unique opportunities to advance scholarship,
applied research, and real-life experiences. The center also serves the state
of Connecticut
by providing a non-partisan forum for the framing and debate of a myriad of
critical public policy issues.
The center houses the Governor
William A. O'Neill Endowed Chair in Public Policy and Practical Politics. The chair's
programs include active archival and oral history projects, focusing on
Connecticut's modern public policy history (including the Governor O'Neill era
and Connecticut's landmark Lemon Law initiative) and a partnership with the Department
of History, Elihu Burritt Library, Media Services, and the United States
Library of Congress in the Veterans History Project. In 2009, the chair
established a public service scholarship for EOP students to honor the late
Governor O'Neill's legacy.
The holder of the O'Neill chair
serves to link students and faculty to the resources of the chair and center.
The holder is a public figure recognized for his or her outstanding
contribution to the understanding and shaping of public affairs in Connecticut.
The center's applied social
research function is maintained as an affordable resource for government,
communities, and non-profit organizations that need assistance with survey
research, program evaluation, project development, and training of government
officials. Among the resources utilized are expert faculty and motivated
students from the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and
Professional Studies, and Engineering and Technology.
The Center for Public Policy and
Social Research (and the Governor William A. O'Neill Endowed Chair) is located
in the Robert C. Vance Academic Center,
with an applied social research office in DiLoreto Hall.
