Visualizing Equitable and Sustainable Communities in Iowa

April 25, 2019
5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
The Graduate Hotel, downtown Iowa City

In honor of its 30th Anniversary, the Public Policy Center showcased how our research impacts the lives of Iowans and our communities. In a fun, fast-paced, “3-minute thesis” style, and poster presentations, researchers talked about the issues they study, and participants provided feedback on the issues that are most important to them.

Iowa City Mayor, Jim Throgmorton and former Iowa City City Councilor, Kingsley Botchway presented remarks. The program was split into three oral presentation sessions, with 15-minute poster sessions in between. Read more about the event in the Daily Iowan.

Featured poster topics included (titles followed by an asterisk were also presented orally), click on title to view:

Can we identify new destination communities in the Midwest?
Natoshia Askelson, Health Policy Program

Can Iowa be a policy innovator?
Fred Boehmke, Politics & Policy Program

How do we strive for equity in schools? *
Sarah Bruch, Social & Education Policy Program

What is the association between material hardship & income in Iowa? *
Aislinn Conrad, Health Policy Program

Do restaurant prices and quality after an increase in the minimum wage?
Chelsea Crain, Social & Education Policy Program

Can Iowa provide equitable access to safe drinking water? *
Dave Cwiertny, Environmental Policy Program

Can public policy reduce the rise in obesity rates?
Dave Frisvold, Social & Education, and Health Policy Programs

How can systems work together to improve health for complex patients? *
Tessa Heeren, Health Policy Program

What is Iowa’s Fecal Population? *
Chris Jones, IIHR, Hydroscience & Engineering

How does an automated vehicle visualize the world? *
Dan McGehee, Transportation and Vehicle Safety Policy Program

Where are Iowa’s dentists? *
Susan McKernan, Health Policy Program

Will competition for scarce water resources lead to wars in the future? *
Sara Mitchell, Politics & Policy Program

Integrated Health Homes: How do policies affect vulnerable children? *
Betsy Momany, Health Policy Program

Has tax increment financing (TIF) helped or hurt Iowa communities?
Phuong Nguyen, Social & Education Policy Program

Are women state legislators ideologically different from men?
Tracy Osborn, Politics & Policy Program

Are there violent consequences of “too much” neighboring?
Ethan Rogers, Crime & Justice Policy Program

How much lead and copper is in Iowans’ drinking water? *
Michelle Scherer, Environmental Policy Program

Iowa Water Well program: Where does the money go? Can we do better? *
Silvia Secchi, Environmental Policy Program

Can broadband use lead to economic prosperity for communities? *
Caroline Tolbert, Politics & Policy Program

Can the Iowa Watershed Approach lead us to a more resilient water future? *
Larry Weber, Environmental Policy Program

What does trauma have to do with education?
Armeda Wojciak, Social & Education Policy Program

The Forkenbrock Series provides a forum for dialogue about policy areas from applied, academic, and interdisciplinary perspectives. The series was established in honor of David Forkenbrock, a nationally recognized transportation researcher. Dr. Forkenbrock established the Public Policy Center at the University of Iowa in 1987 and directed the Center until 2007. His vision was to enable public and private sector decision makers to work with faculty, staff, and student researchers to explore solutions to complex problems related to the public interest.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Dragana Petic at dragana-petic@uiowa.edu.