Message from the Director

We have had a busy year at the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development!

The Clark-Hill Institute is a university-level center that includes an interdisciplinary team of faculty from the School of Medicine – Drs. An Pham and Nicholas Thomson, School of Education – Drs. Chin-Chih Chen and Kevin Sutherland, School of Social Work – Dr. Jamie Cage and McKenzie Green, and the College of Humanities and Sciences - Drs. Rosalie Corona, Gabriela León-Pérez, Fantasy Lozada, Bryce McLeod, Terri Sullivan, and Chelsea Williams. It is named in honor of two former VCU faculty members, Dr. Maxine Clark and Dr. John Hill.

The vision of the Clark-Hill Institute is to conduct high-quality, impactful research and community service that is developed in partnership with youth and their families and community members and organizations.

The Clark Hill Institute envisions families, schools, and communities that are
empowered and supported by evidence-based research in providing opportunities for
youth to (1) develop positive and healthy relationships, (2) realize and enhance their
strengths, (3) view themselves as leaders, and (4) make positive contributions to their
schools and communities. To help achieve this, we strive to conduct research that
utilizes various community-based participatory approaches and through offering
impactful training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and early
career researchers to develop the next generation of community-based researchers.
We have a strong network of community partners and our research is centered on
community-identified needs that address important societal issues (e.g., community-
derived action strategies that promote increased opportunities for positive youth
development).

Our recent accomplishments include having six faculty who were recipients of the VCU
National/International Recognition Awards including Drs. Corona, Lozada, McLeod,
Sullivan, Sutherland, and Thompson.

This year, we initiated a CHI Writing Impact group led by Dr. Chelsea Williams where
students and faculty across colleges and schools collaborated on manuscripts. We also
initiated the Albert Farrell Research Fellowships, led by Drs. Albert Farrell and Terri
Sullivan, where graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members
received opportunities to learn statistics and research methodology.

One key focus of our CDC Center grant include a Youth-Based Participatory Action
Research project, Youth Voices, led by Dr. Fantasy Lozada, that was active in two local
high schools. The high school students who participated will have a showcase of their
work at the Richmond City Main Library in late May.

Best wishes,

Terri Sullivan, Ph.D.
Director, Clark-Hill Institute