Samantha Simon, a graduate student in the Department of Sociology, has been honored with a $1,000 UT OLLI NOVA Annual Scholars Award for her research on police department training academies in Texas.

The funding will help Simon complete the data collection phase of her project. She will then spend a year observing hiring processes and several portions of training academies (classroom training, hands-on training, defensive tactics, etc.) in Austin, Corpus Christi, Houston and Dallas. Her project also includes interviews with recruiting offers, academy training staff and cadets.

The newly established award is offered by The University of Texas at Austin Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (UT OLLI) and the DDCE to support graduate student research in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.  The purpose is to support original research in these vital areas of study and advance the university’s goal of inclusive excellence on campus and in the communities it serves.

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