COEHD Colleagues, Although I am still relatively new to the director role at UEI, in just a short year and a half, I have learned quite a bit about what UEI has done in the past, and what its potential could be for its future. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to revitalize the work of UEI, rebrand its mission and vision, and become better integrated within the COEHD research community. UEI was established to work within the San Antonio community to provide research-informed supports aimed at propping up practices that would address the k-20-workforce pathways. In this capacity, UEI has done many projects in partnership with a variety of entities throughout San Antonio, engaging in evaluation and implementation science work. Although important work, my goal is to expand upon this foundation and for UEI also to become a research/data hub for COEHD, UTSA and the San Antonio community. In this regard, UEI actively pursues important research questions related to ensuring equitable educational pathways for our community, but also operates in ways that facilitate the work of others similarly inspired by our mission and goals. As such, our revitalized mission is: …to provide equity-focused and impactful research, evaluation, and training in collaboration with community-based research-practice-policy partnerships on issues that inform and influence educational and workforce related policies, experiences, and outcomes. And our primary goals are: · To answer critical questions regarding the problems and challenges associated with educational achievement and workforce mobility for local, regional, state and national-level populations; · To produce and disseminate rigorous applied research; · To actively pursue and maintain research-practice-policy partnerships designed to identify, study, and promote data-driven evidence-based practices for continuous improvement; o Area districts/schools o Area higher education institutions o Statewide consortiums o City offices o Non-profit agencies I am thrilled to report at least two initiatives currently underway. The first is the UEI Research Fellows program. Research Fellows are researchers who have an official affiliation with UEI, run grants “through” UEI or in collaboration with others associated with UEI, and participate in ongoing discussions about UEI’s work and goals. I am pleased to announce the members of the inaugural cohort: Ian Thacker, John Davis, Victor Villarreal, Vanessa Sansone, Alonzo Flowers, Sofia Bahena Each of these scholars have already paired up with us to do research (both funded and unfunded projects) aligned with our mission. The second initiative is the work assessing COEHD’s research profile in community-engaged work. Thank you to those who filled out a recent survey on this topic. I will be reviewing this information and producing a brief summarizing what I learn with two goals in mind: * To layout for the Dean and other stakeholders the work COEHD researchers are doing throughout our local community and beyond; * To strategize ways UEI can facilitate new partnerships and/or supports for faculty pursuing this type of work. I will share this widely upon completion. I want to thank Dean Torres for his ongoing support of UEI. His support has been pivotal to the ongoing existence of UEI. I also want to thank Dr. Han Bum Lee (Associate Director and the lead on all of UEI’s quantitative methods work) for his enduring commitment to UEI and for being a fantastic partner and collaborator. I look forward to working with and learning from all faculty in COEHD in the months ahead! Please stay tuned regarding ways to get involved with UEI including more on the Fellows program and ways UEI can support you with your grants. And, don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me with questions, ideas, feedback….or…even invitations for coffee! You never know…maybe I will even spring for it! (see what is possible when you make it to the end of a long message? Persistence pays off!) Best, Sharon _________________________________________________ Sharon L. Nichols, PhD Director, UTSA Urban Education Institute Professor & Chair, Dept. of Educational Psychology College of Education and Human Development University of Texas at San Antonio 501 W. Cesar Chavez Blvd., Suite DB 4.342, San Antonio, TX, 78207-4415 Cell: 210.412.2223 Office: 210.458.2035 Zoom: https://utsa.zoom.us/j/4051289893 Email: Sharon.Nichols(a)utsa.edu <mailto:Sharon.Nichols@utsa.edu> ________________________________________________ [signature_4014702816]<http://uei.utsa.edu/>