Bloomington, Indiana
- 25 active research assistants
- 4 data workers, managed by lead data analyst and PhD student Ashlea Raemer
- 4 members of the Communications Team
- 55 participating organizations
- Averaging 40–50 observations each week
Lab Growth
Across Our Observation Sites
Lab and Program Manager
Fifteen years ago, the beginnings of the OCE Lab were forming—or, really, the seeds were planted even earlier. Professor Baggetta had a dream and a prayer (or, as we would code it—individual silence/prayer/meditation), and when Professor Fulton joined the IU faculty in 2015, the project took off.
Just over ten years later, we are pleased to have four active observation sites across the United States. Each site reflects the steady work of research assistants, staff, and community partners who make this project possible.
Adirondacks, New York
- 2 active research assistants
- 30 participating organizations
- Averaging 8–15 observations each week
Kootenai County, Idaho
- 4 active research assistants
- 30 participating organizations
- Averaging 8–15 observations each week
Dubuque, Iowa
- 4 active research assistants
- 30 participating organizations
- Averaging 8–15 observations each week
It has been a pleasure to work with each team and learn about each community—even the one I’ve spent the last decade living in. Our data collection would not be possible without the thoughtful work of our research assistants and affiliates, who show up for our partner organizations, build relationships of trust and community, and carefully observe—and quantify—what they see.
Dr. Julie Beasley, our original Bloomington Project Manager, completed her PhD in the spring and has moved on to her next academic position. Eliza Brader and Natalie Lunts joined the administrative team to help keep track of all the moving parts of the lab.
We have also started the long process of turning the SSO Qualtrics survey into our own app. Dr. Fulton has had developers working hard to make that possible, and we are getting close.