Criminal Justice Students Garner Honors at URCA

Frances Kyle and Towanda Pettway presented their research at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference held on Wednesday, March 30.

Towanda Pettway’s presentation, TB on the Hill: Tuberculosis Testing and the Legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in Perry County Alabama” earned first. Ms. Pettway explored resistance to testing and treatment shown by the citizens of a Perry County neighborhood known as “The Hill” during the 2015 tuberculosis outbreak in that area and sought to make socio-culturally informed recommendation for improved testing uptake. She gathered data through phone interviews and through on-site ethnographic interviews with Perry County residents. She then analyzed her data in conjunction with epidemiological data to arrive at the recommendation that the lessons of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study should be learned for improved outreach to local communities.

towanda

Frances Kyle’s presentation, entitled “The Day that Led to Foreclosure,” earned a third place finish in her division. Nearly six thousand Tuscaloosans lost their homes to foreclosure following the 2006 bursting of the housing bubble. Ms. Kyle analyzed the personal narratives of ten individuals who faced foreclosure during this period.

frances

Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein served as faculty mentor to both students.

group

Dr. Ariane Prohaska served as faculty mentor to Psychology student Maury Holliman. Ms. Holliman researched the vulnerability of non-native populations following natural disasters and earned honorable mention for her poster presentation.

mauray

The Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity Conference provides undergraduates an opportunity to highlight their research or creative activity and allows students to gain experience presenting, compete for cash prizes, and form relationships with their faculty mentors and fellow Conference presenters. This year nearly five hundred students participated, representing all academic disciplines.