The Division of Diversity and Engagement and Haslam Office of Diversity Relations continued their community safety series by presenting, Reimagining Community Safety: Empowering Communities to Change the Landscape. This event included a campus lecture and a community engagement session with major leaders in Knoxville. Both sessions featured Dr. Henry Louis Taylor, Jr, Professor and Founding Director of the University of Buffalo Center for Urban Studies.
During the campus lecture, Dr. Taylor presented lessons from his work leading the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo. The community session included a presentation from Dr. Taylor and was followed by a panel discussion about the pressing social issue of gun safety within the Knoxville community. The panel discussion was moderated by Officer Shelley Clemons of the Knoxville Police Department. Panelists included Paul Noel, Chief, Knoxville Police Department; Charme Allen, Knox County District Attorney General; and Joseph Carrico, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Knoxville.
“The Division of Diversity and Engagement and our campus partners have a long history of sustained engagement within Knoxville including a focus on helping our community become a more just and safer place to live, work, and play,” stated Associate Vice Chancellor Javiette Samuel. “Through our engagement initiatives, we have convened academics, community leaders, community engaged scholars , advocates, and activists to discuss this important topic through a focus on physical and psychological safety, civil and human rights, and more.”
Dr. Henry Lewis Taylor, Jr is a professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo. He holds a B.S. in Speech Pathology from Tennessee A&I State University and a M.S. in Audiology from the University of Tennessee. He also holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in Urban History from the University at Buffalo. Dr. Taylor focuses his research on a historical and contemporary analysis of distressed urban neighborhoods, social isolation, and race and class issues among people of color.
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