Jacoby Center projects and programs provide numerous opportunities to involve students in faculty research and sponsor students in research of their own. Jacoby Center has undertaken applied research for numerous governmental and non-profit organizations. To achieve its Mission, Jacoby Center attempts to maintain one or more ongoing faculty research projects and creates opportunities for students to initiate their own research through internships and other activities. Technical writing students taught by Professor Amy Smith of the English Department have made many contributions.

The Midtown Project has involved students in residential needs assessments, an interview study of Midtown businesses, and numerous focus groups on issues such as crime awareness, neighborhood employment and social service needs. Historical research has been undertaken on the Midtown’s social and business institutions and on Midtown immigrant families. Students have used internships with Midtown non-profits as opportunities for field research. The California Stories project promises to provide rich research opportunities on Stockton’s ethnic groups for students and faculty alike.

Other research is undertaken for clients in the community or San Joaquin region. Surveys have been conducted for non profits and public agencies on such topics as the giving patterns of their donors, and the occupational needs and health needs of their clients. Other projects include customer satisfaction studies and goal setting projects incorporating surveys, interviews, focus groups, photographic methods, census data and other data sources and methods. Such projects create opportunities for student research involvement on many levels, from introductory to advanced.

Students have presented their research at conferences sponsored by the Western Social Science Association, the California Sociological Association and the annual Undergraduate Sociology and Anthropology Conference held each year at Santa Clara University. Faculty have made similar presentations through these organizations and others regionally and nationally.

Recent Student Research and Reports

Robert Botto. The Mindset of the Business Community: A Qualitative Approach to Classifying Employers in a Low Income Urban Neighborhood

Arlen Cox, David Fisher, David Kelley and Jennifer O’Brien. Stockton’s Midtown: People, Families and Neighborhood Perceptions

Nga Lann. Synopsis of the Report. Process and Performance: Midtown/Magnolia Youth Development Program Second Year Assessment

Melissa Orth. Midtown Project: Live, Walk, Work

Dianna Padilla. Non Coercive Methods of Social Control in an Alternative High School for At-Risk and Ex-Offender Adolescents

Cecilia Rodriguez. Leadership Effectiveness in a Public Organization Which Provides Controversial Services

Additionally, students of History Professor Edie Sparks have prepared a series of papers and presentations under the title Stockton’s Past