Community-University Public Inquiry

CUPI is a collaborative research program at NAU that aims to give undergraduate students research experience and leadership skills through applied community inquiry while focusing on addressing various community partners’ identified research needs. The program brings together multiple small groups (or “pods”) each comprised of undergraduate students from different disciplines, graduate student facilitators, a faculty advisor, and a community partner. These undergraduate students receive independent research credits that can be applied toward their major, while graduate students gain valuable mentoring experience, which some link to their thesis or final project.

Through CUPI, students have the opportunity to:

• Build leadership, collaboration, and research skills
• Select and work with a small interdisciplinary “pod” of upper-level undergraduate students, two graduate students, and a faculty advisor
• Help design and conduct research projects for a community partner
• Receive independent research credits

Program Goals

• Increase undergraduate applied and interdisciplinary research at NAU
• Engage students in issues relevant to Northern Arizona communities while also increasing partnerships between the university and these communities
• Build up students’ inquiry skills, research ethics, and experience to help them in the job market or graduate school
• Give students opportunities to collaborate, communicate, and work across disciplinary lines
• Enable students to recognize and understand complex systems using interdisciplinary approaches
• Foster and develop strong interpersonal, listening, and leadership skills

Pods

Students have the opportunity to select the pod they would like to work with. As community-based research is dynamic and ever-changing, these research partnerships do shift from year to year. The pods we are currently offering include:

• Immigrant Youth Equity

  This pod works with the Northern Arizona Interfaith Council to develop leadership skills in K-12 Flagstaff Unified School District students, families, principals, and teachers. This semester we are using action research to assess the needs of immigrant students and families and share results with school district leaders to improve the safety and quality of education for these communities.

• Health Equity

The Health Equity pod is working with a Flagstaff-based community acupuncture clinic to study and improve access to trauma-informed and gender-affirming healthcare. The pod is organizing and analyzing post-experience surveys from participants in the program to understand the health impacts of the clinic’s mobile acupuncture program designed to serve communities experiencing homelessness, substance use, and economic insecurity.

• Rural Food Systems

Students in this pod work with St. Mary’s Food Bank on the distribution and utility of food boxes for residents of rural areas known as “food deserts.” Students travel to rural communities in Northern Arizona to collect data and participate in food distribution. Past research includes surveys and interviews with food box recipients, as well as cataloging of local food availability.

• Housing Security

   This pod serves Flagstaff residents, helping to implement the Flagstaff Housing Plan with a focus on affordability, sustainability, and social and climate justice. The pod is conducting interviews and surveys with residents and developers about the intersections of sustainability, housing, and health; results will be used to address barriers for developing sustainable housing.

If you are interested in CUPI, please fill out this short application.