Assistant Professor

Vita:

Office: 132 McCord Hall
Office Phone: (901) 678-3365
Fax: (901) 678-2981
E-mail: leharri@memphis.edu

Education:

Ph.D., 1999, University at Albany (Albany, NY)

M.A., 1992 Memphis State University (Memphis, TN)

B.A., 1990 Tulane University (New Orleans, LA)

Bio

Dr. Laura Harris joined the faculty of the Division of Public and Nonprofit Administration in 2005.  She currently works on several program evaluations related to the HOPE VI public housing program in Memphis, examining outcomes for the former public housing residents as communities are razed and redeveloped. From 1999 to 2005, she was a Research Associate at The Urban Institute in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center, where she on public and assisted housing policy at the federal level. Dr. Harris’ research has included research projects tracking outcomes for residents at several public housing HOPE VI sites, studies of participants in HUD's Moving to Opportunity Demonstration Program, and a range of other projects related to economic self-sufficiency among public housing residents. 

Dr. Harris' research on issues of self-sufficiency outcomes, with a particular focus on poor health as a barrier to employment, has resulted in a wide range of publications, including reports to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, policy briefs, and peer review journal articles for housing policy researchers, sociologist, and the public health community. Dr. Harris’ teaching interests are in Policy Evaluation and Policy Analysis, for federal, state, local, and nonprofit agencies.