College of Public Service May 2024 Newsletter

Creating a Culture of Care: How Unleashing the Power of Healthy Relationships and Bystander Intervention Can Make a Difference

In this workshop, presented by Kenneth Scott of the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council in partnership with Dr. Alondra Garza, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, participants learned how to build and maintain healthy relationships while developing skills to intervene in potentially harmful situations. Through interactive activities and discussions, participants explored the power of bystander intervention and how it can positively impact individuals and communities. Participants left with a deeper understanding of healthy relationships and practical strategies for promoting safety and well-being in their personal and professional lives.

The 24th Annual 2024 Region 5-Texas NAME Conference At UHD

The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) proudly partnered with the Region 5 - Texas chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education (TXNAME) to host the 23rd Annual TXNAME Conference from May 2-4, 2024. This year’s theme, “The Joy of Multicultural Learning: Building Bridges and Communities that Inspire and Empower,” brought together approximately 120 registered attendees for a dynamic and enriching experience.

The conference began with warm welcoming remarks from UHD’s Provost Bordelon and Dean Schwartz from the College of Public Service (CPS), setting the tone for a series of inspiring sessions. Esteemed keynote speakers included Dr. Vida Robertson from UHD, Dr. ArCasia James-Gallaway from Texas A&M University, Dr. Lakia Scott from Yale University, and Dr. Jesse Esparza from Texas Southern University. Their powerful insights on advocacy, activism, and maintaining joy deeply resonated with attendees.

Adding a creative dimension to the event, this year’s invited artist-in-residence, "Roni" Cabrera from Art in the HEART in North Houston, showcased vibrant artistic expressions that complemented the conference’s themes.

Additionally, over 15 scholarly presentations were delivered by UHD faculty representing multiple colleges, highlighting the breadth and depth of research within our institution.

TXNAME Board members Alexis Hooker from Baylor University and Dr. Marisela Martinez from the University of Houston orchestrated the remarkable ‘Social City Connections Tours,’ featuring curated visits to the Houston Museum of African American Culture and the Holocaust Museum. These tours provided invaluable learning and networking opportunities, creating memorable experiences for all attendees.

Dr. Sarah M. Straub, TXNAME President-Elect from Stephen F. Austin State University, remarked, “The sense of community and welcome that was felt from our UHD partners was palpable and would not have been possible without the immense efforts of two TXNAME Board members, conference co-chairs and UHD faculty, Dr. Tonya Jeffery and Dr. Christal Burnett Sánchez.”

For more information about TXNAME, please visit our website.

50 Years of History and Excellence

Across half a century, the University of Houston-Downtown has stood out as a place of caring, learning, and leading. As we look back on 50 years of history, we not only celebrate a milestone, but also set ourselves a benchmark for the next half century.

The History of Houston's Downtown University

In 1974, the University of Houston acquired the assets of South Texas Junior College and opened the University of Houston-Downtown College (UHDC) at One Main Street as a four-year institution. By the end of the 1970s, the Texas Legislature approved UHDC as a distinct university in the University of Houston System. UHDC focused on meeting the needs of Houston's diverse and dynamic workforce. The first four-year degree was a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, and resident students paid $4 per credit hour. By the early 1980s, it was clear that UHDC was more than a college. It was officially renamed as the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD).

College of Public Service Advising Center Presents: SPRING FLING

On March 26th, the CPS Advising Center presented their "SPRING FLING" Event. In connecting with the CPS Advising Center team, students enjoyed a great advising event with Bingo, food, and free giveaways, in addition to learning how to read their degree plan. Students also met other staff from offices providing student support from across campus who participated in the event.

You Matter!

You matter in this world. Even if this world is full of challenges, chaos, and confusion, you matter! In this mindfulness movement workshop, participants reviewed the State of the Heart Report for 2022 from Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network. Participants explored stressors that they may have experienced through mindfulness breathing and movement activities to alleviate or minimalize those stressors. The participants explored where they feel these emotions in their bodies.

The Workshop provided mindfulness breathing and active yoga movements to reduce stress that participants may be feeling. These strategies can be used in academic settings such as testing, homework, writing, and presentations so that participants can be more effective in their work. Creative methods such as writing, drawing, movement were used throughout the Workshop.

Green Mountain Energy Earth Day at Discovery Green

UHD students volunteered in the Discovery Green Earth Day Event in April. Coinciding with Houston hosting the First Robotics Competition in the city, the entire park was full of life, art, and Earth Day celebrations. The Urban Education students participating in this event were all from Dr. Jeffery’s science methods courses.

Discovery Green Conservancy, in partnership with Citizens’ Environmental Coalition made this year’s Green Mountain Energy Earth Day all about art featuring Houston Public Works’ Water Works Festival.

Artists help people see the beauty of the world in a new way. Art has the power to change minds and hearts. This year’s Earth Day was about using art to engage people and urge them to action. Just as anyone can be an artist, anyone can be an activist. At this Earth Day event, you can be both!

Spring 2024 Houston Court Watch Event

On April 25th, Dr. Fei Yang, Director of the Houston Laboratory for Crime and Justice, and her service-learning students, hosted another successful Houston Court Watch event. This year, Dr. Yang’s students presented their findings and policy recommendations to fellow court watchers, faculty, staff, community partners, and legal professionals.

Judge Franklin Bynum and HCPDO General Counsel Ms. Sarah Wood attended the event and shared passionately their experiences and perceptions of various aspects of Harris County courts. They praised the students for their significant contributions to judicial oversight.

Dr. Yang expressed her deep gratitude to Ms. Wood and Judge Bynum for their unwavering support for the Lab and the Houston Court Watch program. She also gave special thanks to CJ Professor Dr. Clete Snell who was instrumental in the development of the Court Watch forms and Court Watcher training; to CPS and CJSW leaders—Dean Schwartz, Associate Dean Blackburn, Assistant Dean Robles, Mr. Villano, and Dr. Buckler — who have been generously supporting and promoting the Court Watch program; to the Houston Endowment and the Civic Engagement Grant team, Dr. Barros-Lane and Ms. Vivian Smith, who handled tedious paperwork and logistics of program and event funding; and to Dr. Rountree from Communication Studies who helped coach Court Watchers on oral presentation and public speaking.

Student Spotlight

For this student spotlight we would like to recognize Lauren Parker, whose outlook on life is "no matter how bad you think you have it, there is always someone else who has it worse and, if you can do something to make their lives better why not take that opportunity?" This has been something Lauren has kept in mind over the last several years because it is easy to become self-involved with the state of our culture today. So, it is important to remember that there are other things happening in the world and we need to be mindful that other people are suffering and have needs we can help meet.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Lauren chose UHD because we have an amazing Criminal Justice program with great faculty and small class sizes. These smaller class sizes give you the ability to work with faculty on individual projects like she completed through the University’s Honors Program. The projects have given her the opportunity to work on research she feels is important and explore topics that have a major impact on our society.

Lauren is honored to have been selected to represent UHD as the 2024-2025 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow. It is amazing to have a platform to advocate for justice-involved individuals and the stray animal crisis. The application process was quite lengthy. To have the opportunity to apply you must be nominated by a faculty or staff member at UHD. The nomination alone is an honor because it means that someone believes in you and your work enough to say that they believe you will represent UHD proudly as a Newman Fellow. She was nominated based on her service to the community and civic engagement. She feels that community service and advocacy for civic change are two of the most important things we can do as change makers. Lauren did not have any goal in mind with all the work that she had done and participated in other than helping meet a need in our community or helping raise awareness of an issue. She never thought that this would earn her a nomination, let alone, lead to her being named the UHD 2024-2025 Newman Civic Fellow.

Lauren is a criminal justice major. She chose criminal justice because she wanted to have the opportunity to help address some of the issues we are currently facing in our system today. Issues impacting those that are justice-involved like conditions in correctional facilities, access to education, re-entry support services, public perception of certain criminal offenses, and much more are all having a current impact on our system. Society tends to cast judgment on and target those individuals who are or have formerly been justice-involved. She wanted to be a part of a community that supports this vulnerable population.

After Lauren graduates, she plan on pursuing a Master’s degree and Doctorate in Criminal Justice. Lauren would like to pursue academic research and teaching after she completes her education. She feels that research is one of the most important assets we have in the field of criminal justice because it shows us what works and what does not work. It also shows us what we can do to improve our criminal justice system and the lives of those that are impacted by these challenges.

The biggest challenge that Lauren has faced while at UHD is financial obstacles. Like most first-generation students, paying for expenses related to education can be difficult. Lauren worked two jobs and sometimes that was still not enough. Her parents taught her that it is very important to avoid taking out loans as long as possible because she has further academic goals she would like to pursue. Lauren's pace through college at times has been a little slower than some students. However, this has taught her to keep going no matter how hard things get and how grim the outlook may be. To her perseverance is one of the greatest skills we can learn in life.

Faculty Spotlight

This edition's Faculty Spotlight is on Edward Baldazo, an Adjunct Faculty Member in Criminal Justice at the University of Houston-Downtown, within the College of Public Service. With over 30 years of experience in criminal justice, I have become a subject matter expert in juvenile justice, particularly in the areas of prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation. This extensive experience allows me to provide valuable insights in the courses I teach, including Juvenile Justice, Community-Based Corrections, Victimology, Race and Crime, and Ethics.

Throughout my career, I have served in various roles such as Juvenile Probation Officer, Special Programs Administrator, Associate Director, and currently as a Compliance and Quality Assurance Analyst with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. During these years, I was actively involved in developing and implementing rehabilitation programs for youthful offenders. My work requires a deep understanding of criminal theories, evidence-based practices, and social determinants of health. These skills, along with critical thinking, are crucial in both public and academic settings.

In my coursework, I integrate my professional experiences to enrich the curriculum for students. I use real-life incidents to illustrate theories and practices, as well as the challenges faced in the criminal justice field.

As a faculty adjunct member at UHD's College of Public Service, my favorite part of teaching is engaging with students who share my passion for criminal justice.

The foundations of criminal justice, including the theories, research methods, and ethics and professional responsibility—are essential concepts that students must learn for our careers in our field. The UHD College of Public Service ensures students are exposed to these concepts. I encourage all students who are passionate about pursuing a career in criminal justice to focus on these constructs.

There is no doubt that criminal justice is a challenging field, and the gratification of doing a great job is often not immediately felt. My advice is to always remember to smile; a smile can go a long way in breaking down barriers and creating new possibilities.

I enjoy being an adjunct faculty member for the College of Public Service because of the UHD students I teach. Engaging with UHD students in the classroom is inspirational and motivating. Teaching and sharing my knowledge with future criminal justice professionals is an honor that recharges me while I work in the criminal justice system.

Apart from spending time with my family and two dogs, I enjoy gardening and other outdoor activities such as hiking and fishing. Recently, I discovered disc golf. Like traditional golf, it has its own challenges and obstacles. I'm still a beginner, so if you ever see me out on the field, my feelings won’t be hurt if you ask to play through.

Although there have been many stories over the years where former clients have returned to express their gratitude or proudly share their accomplishments, one event stands out as particularly memorable to me and makes me feel as if I truly made a difference.

This story involves a group of parents who regularly attended a support group I helped establish. The intent was to provide them with the tools to better interact with their children, all of whom were justice-involved youth with previously undiagnosed mental health conditions. The program succeeded in educating and supporting the parents, but what truly made me feel I had made a difference was the sense of community that developed among the parents themselves.

These parents formed long-lasting friendships and began supporting each other outside of the group. Many of them felt so strongly about the program that they became volunteers, helping other parents navigate both the justice and mental health systems. Seeing this community of support and empowerment flourish was incredibly rewarding and stands as a testament to the program's impact and my role in facilitating it.