Felicia LeClere receives the Ganey Faculty Community-Based Research Award

Felicia LeClere, Director of the Laboratory for Social Research and Research Associate Professor of Sociology, won the Rodney F. Ganey, Ph.D. Faculty Community-Based Research Award for 2005.

Three research projects highlight Felicia’s scholarship with the local community. First, working with Dr. William Sarnat, a cardiologist with the St. Joseph Medical System, LeClere and her graduate students looked at new variables for assessing risks of heart disease. Results of this study may lead to national modifications in standard testing procedures. A second effort has been with the Robinson Community Learning Center. Here she conducted systematic evaluation to determine if programs were meeting the needs of local youth. Third, LeClere led a study with the Center for the Homeless (CFH), for which she and graduate student Eugene Walls received a Ganey Mini-Grant in 2003. The study investigated the likelihood of former CFH guests’ returning to CFH for additional stays, among other concerns. Research is still ongoing, but has already yielded important findings that can be used in determining future directions in CFH programmatic offerings and revision of existing policies.