Director's Statement

Dr. King Davis

Thanks very much for visiting the website of the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis [IUPRA]. We are a non-partisan organization committed to applying data to inform legislative policies that affect the quality of life of multiple populations of color. Some of our projects focus on populations in the United States while others examine similar populations throughout the Diaspora. The Institute’s mission is based on our understanding of the critical role that public policy has historically and currently plays in determining the distribution of resources and opportunities by race, language, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity , and region. Our staff and graduate students use a variety of research tools and approaches to assess existing and proposed policies in such related areas as health, education, criminal justice, social welfare, and economics.

IUPRA was developed in 2011 and is one of the three units that comprise Black Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. The two other units are the African and African Diaspora Studies Department and the John Warfield Center. Together these 3 units form a unique approach to university education, research, and cultural programming within the College of Liberal Arts. The effort to infuse public policy analysis within this 3 part framework is innovative and exciting.  IUPRA’s focus on quantitative approaches to policy analysis adds an applied sciences base to scholarship within Black Studies.

Over the past year, we have been actively engaged in refining our mission and charting new initiatives for our second full year. Some of these policy initiatives focused on HIV/AIDS testing policy in American prisons, support of a living wage policy for low income women of color, and the intense controversy over the use of educational vouchers. Each of our completed initiatives is published initially as a policy brief or report that is available on our website. The brief may also be published in an academic journal or used as the basis of a presentation in the community or before a legislative group.

We look forward to garnering your support of our work in the coming years. Please do not leave our website without exploring our mission, connect with us on Twitter, sign up for news and events on our Contact Us page.

My best wishes,

King Davis, Ph.D.
Mike Hogg Professor in Community Affairs
African and African Diaspora Studies Department - College of Liberal Arts
Director
The Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis [IUPRA]