University of Memphis

Nine University of Memphis students kicked off their summer giving back to the community in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. as part of the Alternative Break Experience.

Students volunteered at Habitat for Humanity Walton County's Habitat ReStore Walton County, the Food For Thought Outreach Inc food pantry and the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society.

“This experience gave me a lot of perspective,” said sophomore Ian Twinamasiko. “It’s easy to go through your daily life without fully realizing how many people around you are quietly carrying really hard situations, whether that’s food insecurity, recovering from a natural disaster or just needing encouragement. This trip made all that very real for me. I came back genuinely more grateful and more aware.”

The UofM Center for Service Learning and Volunteerism has over 3,000 volunteers annually with 10 or more service trip opportunities.

This past year, over 1,432 students volunteered over 14,000 plus hours to yield an economic impact of $402,266.71.

Read more » https://blogs.memphis.edu/newsroom/2026/06/02/giving-back-in-the-florida-panhandle-alternative-break-experience/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-organic&utm_term=abe-florida-panhandle&utm_content=link-post

The Center for Community Research and Evaluation (CCRE) at the University of Memphis is launching a new research unit dedicated to improving the transparency, accessibility and usability of Shelby County’s criminal justice data.

The CLEAR Initiative (Criminal and Legal Evaluation using Administrative Records) will harmonize data sources from five Shelby County agencies, making it easier to track outcomes as cases progress through the criminal justice system.

“Right now, criminal justice data lives in silos,” said Dr. Jonathan Bennett, director of the CLEAR Initiative and chief data scientist at CCRE.

“We can analyze data from the jail, or from a specific court or from prosecutors, but not how those pieces fit together in a meaningful way. CLEAR will allow reporting and research built on a true 360-degree view of case outcomes.”

Read more » https://blogs.memphis.edu/newsroom/2026/05/27/ccre-launches-clear-initiative-to-support-shelby-county-criminal-justice-data-tracking/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-organic&utm_term=ccre-launches-clear&utm_content=link-post

See you at Home Ⓜ️

🎟️ gotigersgo.me/26FBSeasonTix

What started as groundwater research at Shelby Farms turned into an unexpected collaboration between science and art.

From protecting the Memphis aquifer to creating ceramics from natural clay, University of Memphis students and faculty are showing what’s possible when disciplines come together.

Read more » https://bit.ly/4dT4KUh

UofM College of Arts & Sciences | Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research - CAESER | Protect Our Aquifer