State of the Lehigh Valley Event Showcases Trends in the Region

November 19, 2018, @ 8:00 AM

Christopher Borick, Director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, addresses the crowd and presents his findings on the perception of information sources at the State of the Lehigh Valley event at DeSales University.

Each year, faculty members from throughout the LVAIC community gather to partner on collaborative research regarding trends in the region for local organizations. This work occurs throughout the year through the Lehigh Valley Research Consortium, a program of LVAIC, and culminates with the State of the Lehigh Valley report.

LVAIC hosts a report release event each year, and this year’s event took place at DeSales University on Monday, November 12, 2018. The event features author of the report presenting their findings followed by networking and breakout sessions and working groups who collaborate to problem-solve community issues and learn research tools.

The agenda for this year’s event included the following presentations:

How We Learn About the Lehigh Valley:

• Brian Alnutt, Associate Professor, Humanities & Social Sciences, Northampton Community College, featuring the Lehigh Valley Oral History Directory
• Christopher Borick, Professor of Political Science, Muhlenberg College & Director, Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, featuring the Public Perceptions of Information Sources

Current Trends in the Lehigh Valley:

• Michelle Bolger, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, DeSales University, featuring the Public Perceptions of Crime in the Lehigh Valley
• Karianne Gelinas, Director, Talent Supply, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation and Lisa Plummer, Director of Institutional Research and Analysis, DeSales University featuring the Lehigh Valley Talent Market Study

These presentations were proceeded by the following breakout sessions:

• Knowing the Lehigh Valley: Keeping Up With a Moving Target
• Data Outsourcing: Community Commons and Aggregating Platforms
• How Do We Know You’re Effective? Data Reporting and Sense-Making: Data Citizenship Workshop

Close to 100 attendees gathered for this event, including 47 campus members, 32 non-profit leaders, 5 government officials, and 12 business leaders from the community. More information regarding this event, including an electronic copy of the report, and the research consortium is available on the LVRC website.