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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//UIC
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:2026071104373820261007T16000020261007T1800006a51c89275f42@uic.edu
CATEGORIES:MEETING
STATUS:TENTATIVE
DTSTAMP:20260701T014958
DTSTART:20261007T160000
DTEND:20261007T180000
SUMMARY:The Inaugural John Hagedorn Annual Lecture Featuring Dr. Avelardo Valdez, in Conversation with Dr. Kathryn Bocanegra
DESCRIPTION:The Great Cities Institute is pleased to host the Inaugural John Hagedorn Annual Lecture, honoring the life, scholarship, and lasting impact of Dr. John Hagedorn. This lecture series celebrates Hagedorn?s influential work on gangs, violence, urban inequality, and community life, while continuing conversations that connect rigorous research with pressing social issues.  The inaugural lecture will feature Dr. Avelardo Valdez in conversation with Dr. Kathryn Bocanegra from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. Valdez will discuss his new book, Homeboys Forever: The Lifetime Consequences of Gang Membership, published by the University of Chicago Press. Drawing on more than two decades of longitudinal research, Valdez?s work offers a deeply humanizing look at gang involvement, structural inequality, institutional stigmatization, and the long-term consequences of social and economic marginalization.  Through this event, GCI invites students, scholars, practitioners, and community members to engage in dialogue around the questions that animated Hagedorn?s work and continue to matter deeply today.  Also, those interested in honoring Dr. Hagedorn?s legacy are invited to contribute to the UIC John Hagedorn Memorial Fund, which supports the continuation of work and programming that reflects his lifelong commitment to scholarship, justice, and understanding the lives of communities too often pushed to the margins. Contributions help ensure that Dr. Hagedorn?s influence continues to inspire research, dialogue, and public engagement for years to come.  Donate here: UIC John Hagedorn Memorial Fund    \n    About the Speaker:  Dr. Avelardo Valdez, M.A. ?76, Ph.D. ?79, is professor emeritus at the University of Southern California and a distinguished sociologist whose scholarship has advanced critical understandings of substance use, violence, health, inequality, and the lived experiences of marginalized communities. He previously served as a professor at the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston, where he also directed the Center for Drug & Social Policy Research.  Across his career, Dr. Valdez has conducted deeply engaged research with populations often rendered invisible in mainstream policy and academic discourse, including youth and prison gang members, heroin users, sex workers, and communities along the U.S.?Mexico border. His work has resulted in numerous journal articles, chapters, and academic publications, and has been supported by major federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  His newest book, Homeboys Forever: The Lifetime Consequences of Gang Membership, published by the University of Chicago Press, draws on more than two decades of longitudinal research with Mexican American men in San Antonio. Grounded in extensive fieldwork and in-depth interviews, the book offers a rare and deeply human account of how structural inequality, institutional stigmatization, and constrained opportunity shape lives marked by gang involvement, violence, incarceration, resilience, and efforts toward reintegration.    About the Discussant:    Dr. Kathryn Bocanegra is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago?s Jane Addams College of Social Work. She brings more than 18 years of experience in community mental health, community violence prevention, and criminal justice reform. Her research and professional work focus on community violence intervention and prevention, trauma recovery, victim services and supports, criminal legal policy, and community-based research methods.    Dr. Bocanegra?s scholarship examines the intersections of violence, trauma, criminal legal systems, and urban communities, with particular attention to survivor-centered approaches and the experiences of community violence intervention workers. She has led and contributed to numerous research projects on homicide investigations, trauma exposure among frontline violence intervention workers, long prison sentences, decarceration, and trauma recovery centers in Illinois. Her work has been published in journals including American Journal of Criminal Justice, Homicide Studies, Families in Society, and the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research.    In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Bocanegra has served in several public safety and policy leadership roles, including as Chair of the Illinois Violent Crime Advisory Council, Co-Chair of the Chicago Mayor?s Public Safety Transition Committee, and Working Group Chair for Victim and Survivor Services on the Chicago Mayor?s Taskforce for Community Safety. | Event post: https://greatcities.uic.edu/events?page_id=5780
LOCATION:UIC Student Center East, Cardinal Room 750 S. Halsted St.  Chicago IL 60607
CLASS:PRIVATE
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