Kendra Davenport Cotton

kendra77@email.unc.edu


 

Professional Contact:
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Program on Public Life, CSAS

CB# 3365

Chapel Hill, NC 27599

(919) 843-8174 / (919) 259-3234

 

Personal Contact:

5826 Solitude Way

Durham, NC 27713

(919) 361-7662 (Home)

 

education:

 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Doctor of Philosophy – Political Science expected Summer 2008.

Major Field:  American Politics
Minor Field:  Public Policy

 

North Carolina State University

Master of Public Administration awarded in 2002.        

 

University of Oklahoma

B.A. awarded in 1999.

Major: Public Administration / Minor: Spanish

 

Forthcoming Publications and R&R’s:


Refereed Articles:

McClain, Paula, Niambi Carter, Victoria De Francesco, Monique Lyle, Shayla Nunnally, Thomas      Scotto, J. Alan Kendrick, Jeffrey Grynaviski, Gerald Lackey, Kendra Davenport Cotton. "Racial      Distancing in a Southern City: Latino Immigrants’ Views of Black Americans." Journal of      Politics 68(3), August 2006.

 

Book Chapters:

McClain, Paula, Monique Lyle, Niambi Carter, Victoria De Francesco, Gerald Lackey, Kendra Davenport Cotton, Shayla Nunnally, Thomas Scotto, Jeffrey Grynaviski, J. Alan Kendrick."Black Americans and Latino Immigrants in a Southern City: Friendly Neighbors or Economic Competitors?" In Colorlines. Andrew Grant-Thomas (editor). (Forthcoming)

 

McClain, Paula, Victoria De Francesco, Monique Lyle, Niambi Carter, Gerald Lackey, Jeffrey Grynaviski, Kendra Davenport Cotton, Shayla Nunnally, Thomas Scotto, J. Alan Kendrick. "Black Elites and Latino Immigration Relations in a Southern City: Do Black Elites and the Black Masses Agree?". In New Race Politics in America: Understanding Minority and Immigrant Voting. Jane Junn and Kerry Hanie (editors). (Forthcoming)

 

Selected Working Papers

Gitterman, Daniel, Christopher Howard and Kendra Davenport Cotton.  2003. “Tax Credits for Working Families: The New American Social Policy.” Washington: Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. 

http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/es/urban/publications/200308_Gitterman.pdf

 

research Interests

 

Community Economic Development, Rural Politics and Policy, Racial Minority Group Politics, Public Policy, Public Administration

 
Classroom Experience

 

POLI 195: Black Politics in the U.S, Instructor (Fall 2006, Spring 2007)

POLI 77: Bureaucratic Politics, Teaching Assistant (Spring 2006)

POLI 41: Introduction to American Politics, Teaching Assistant (Fall 2005)

POLI 170: Voting and Elections, Grader (Fall 2004)

POLI 76: Women Violence and the Law, Teaching Assistant (Spring 2005)

 

Professional/Research Experience

 

12/2005-Present        Program on Public Life, UNC-CH Center for the Study of the American South

Assistant Director for Programs

 

·         Manage all logistical dimensions, including planning, reporting, and follow-up, of a wide array of Program public programming, i.e. Seminars for Legislators and Journalist Roundtables, per the instruction of the Program Director.

·         Provide research assistance for and to act as the administrative liaison to Program Director.

·         Investigate, research, and report on those service requests received from the general public and deemed by the Program Director as falling within the Program’s mandate.

·         Assist with the editing, printing and distribution of the SouthNow, NC DataNet and Carolina Context newsletters. Maintain and expand the SouthNow website and weblog; produce regular email updates for constituents of the Program.

 

06/2002-03/2006         Program for the Rural Carolinas

Chapin Hall Center for Children Research Associate

·         Developed a learning framework and strategy for providing useful information and credible analysis of the Duke Endowment’s Program for the Rural Carolinas.

·         Conducted yearly reviews of existing learning questions and solicit new ones from the various participating parties to ensure the Learning Project targets issues in which the sites and others are interested and invested.

·         Designed a data collection strategy and analysis plan for each learning question within an ongoing set of relationships with program sites, MDC, Inc. and the Duke Endowment. 

 

11/2003-12/2005         Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (MURAP), UNC-CH Institute for African-American Research

                                    Alumni Coordinator

·         Maintained/updated alumni database in order to provide monthly activity updates to program coordinators and funders.

 


06/2004-08/2004         North Carolina Rural Center (http://www.ncruralcenter.org)

Small Towns Initiative Research Intern

 

·         Assisted in coordination of focus groups and provided administrative support in preparing for and completing 24 focus groups in 8 small towns throughout the state to solicit input from small town municipal and civic leaders on the resources and needs of North Carolina’s small towns and rural communities.

·         Traveled with Rural Center staff and assisted in the documentation, data collection and management of the small town focus groups.

·         Co-managed and compiled the data collected from the small town focus groups. Assisted in identifying key themes and findings.

 

08/2001-05/2002         Center for Teaching Quality (http://www.teachingquality.org)

Public Policy Intern

·         Worked with the Associate Director to provide assistance with analysis of documents and articles related to various research projects, while supporting the ongoing work of SECTQ specific policy development projects.

·          Helped track issues related to National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future’s goals in southeastern states.

 

08/2000-06/2001         North Carolina Center for Nonprofits (http://www.ncnonprofits.org)

                                    Information and Referral Intern

·         Researched telephone help-line requests, promptly forwarding information to inquiring organizations.

·         Sent and reviewed forms for pro-bono, vendor and consultant referrals.

·         Maintained “Tech Supports” database.

 

06/2000 – 08/2000      Research Triangle Institute                        

                        Ethnographer / truthsm tour 2000

·         Observed and documented daily activities of youth and staff during a six-week / eight-city tour of the West Coast for www.thetruth.com, a program of the American Legacy Foundation.

·         Conducted interviews with youth/local leaders to enhance the richness of the data collection process, while analyzing and reviewing weekly research updates.

 

06/1999 – 06/2000      ALLTEL Communications, Inc.                 

                                    HR Generalist / Leadership Development Program Participant

·         Completed learning assignments, over an 18-week period, that provided exposure to virtually every facet of the telecommunications industry.

·         Delivered formal presentations to senior executive management, including Chief Operating Officer, concerning market area observations.

·         Facilitated the opening of five retail express stores during a four-month retail operations field assignment in Raleigh, NC.

·         Advised management to improve collection numbers in Virginia Beach Financial Services Call Center, while supervising a team of 15 representatives.

 


08/1996 – 05/1999      University of Oklahoma – National Scholars Programs

                                    Student Adviser/Recruiter

·         Performed general office duties as prescribed by office manager and program director. 

·         Assisted program staff with course scheduling and advisement during registration periods.

·         Hosted student scholars during scheduled university visits and recruitment functions.

 

Academic Achievements, Honors, and Grants

SBE Summer Dissertation Research Fellowship (2006, 2007)

North Carolina Minority Presence Fellowship (Merit-based fellowship awarded by the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; includes an $15,000 stipend and health insurance.)

 

National Scholars’ Programs Scholarship Recipient at the University of Oklahoma (1995 National Achievement Scholar)

 

References

 

(1)   Ferrel Guillory

Director, UNC-CH Program on Public Life

CB# 3365

Chapel Hill, NC  27599

(919) 962-5936

guillory@unc.edu

 

(2)   Dr. Prudence Brown

Research Fellow, Chapin Hall Center for Children

            University of Chicago

Chicago, IL  60637

(212) 662-2056

pruebrown@aol.com

 

(3)   Andrew Holton

Assitant Director, UNC-CH Program on Public Life

CB# 3365

Chapel Hill, NC  27599

(919) 843-8174

holton@unc.edu