Assistant Professor Ruodan Zhang Uses Machine Learning to Improve the Retrievability of IRS 990 Text Data
Zhang is working with New York University’s Haohan Chen to develop a method that helps researchers and practitioners identify nonprofit organizations of interest. This research takes advantage of the newly available nonprofit mission and program service activity description data reported in the IRS Form 990. It applies word embedding methods to generate a continuous measure for document-to-keyword relevance. The researchers are working to develop a web-based Shiny app for nonprofit researchers and practitioners to further explore and test the identification method.
UConn Public Policy Alum Oversees the Distribution of Seven Million Pounds of Food during the Pandemic
Jason Jakubowski ’01 MPA is the president and CEO of Foodshare, a nonprofit network of 250 pantries and 60 mobile sites who have helped to feed more than 200,000 people across Greater Hartford since April. Over Thanksgiving, Jakubowski and his team helped to distribute more than 20,000 turkeys. He will teach PP 5329 Nonprofit Advocacy, Government Relations, and Law online this spring.
Encore!Connecticut Supports the Nonprofit Sector with its Largest Cohort of Corporate Executives
Encore!Connecticut prepares corporate executives for employment in Connecticut’s nonprofit sector. Due to COVID-19, this year the program was delivered virtually without a hitch. The class of 28 graduated in November. UConn Provost Carl Lejeuz noted at graduation that the program is a “...great example of what a university can do if they have the right North Star.” Recruitment for the spring 2021 cohort is already close to full capacity.
Public Service Executive Leadership Collaborative (PSELC) Thrives in its Virtual Format: Unconscious Bias and Microaggressions Workshops Sell Out
Designed and managed by the Department of Public Policy, PSELC provides professional development to members of Connecticut's leading public and nonprofit sector associations in a shared learning environment that strengthens ties. This fall, sessions on Managing Unconscious Bias and Responding to Microaggressions: Strategies for Navigating Instances of Exclusion with Kenya Rutland of KJR Consulting sold out. Due to high demand, these workshops will be offered again in the spring of 2021.