Katherine Fennelly
2006–2007 Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs

Katherine Fennelly, professor of public affairs at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, was named the 2006–2007 Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs.

Fennelly used the resources provided by her appointment to conduct a statewide census of “diversity coalitions”—organizations that have been established to help recent immigrants integrate into the rural and suburban communities where many of them work and live. The project focused on the organizations’ objectives, accomplishments, and levels of inclusivity, and culminated with a series of reports and a networking conference. Ultimately, Fennelly hopes the work will stimulate communities to critically examine the makeup, power structures, purposes, and expected outcomes of diversity coalitions, and to promote regional collaborations and communications among them.

For more information, see the article about Fennelly’s appointment in the Summer 2006 CURA Reporter (download article, PDF file).

(Photo courtesy Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs)