Student Projects
The Hart Leadership Program has a long history of exemplary student work, and we are proud to showcase here a selection of student research projects, internships, and honors theses dating back to 2011. Below, you can explore nearly 400 student projects, filtering by project type, Hart program affiliated with the project, thematic topics, project locations, and project years. The database does not provide the full text of students' projects, but it does provide abstracts of student work wherever available, as well as more information including students' class year and, when applicable, the name of the community partner organization a student worked with to conduct their internship or research. We will continue to expand the database as our students continue conducting phenomenal projects. In the meantime, use the search function below to explore our incredible students' work, and get inspired!
Project Type: SOL Capstone Project
Participatory Planning for Environmental Justice
Urban planning historically has contributed to harm for environmental justice communities, marginalizing voices rather than inviting meaningful partnership. This research project explored implementation of Sherry Arnstein’s “Ladder of Participation” (1969) to redistribute power to environmental justice communities. Focusing on participatory models which emphasize the assets that communities bring to the …
Community Land Trusts: Developing a Theory of Change
I researched the Durham Community Land Trust’s theory of change in order to develop my own theory of change. Land is, and has always been, a significant source of economic, social, and political power. In the past four decades, the Durham Community Land Trust has become on of the most …
Addressing Mass Incarceration in Cook County, Illinois
Chicago’s Cook County Jail is the largest single-site jail in the United States, responsible for approximately 10,000-12,000 people awaiting trial or transportation to prison. Cook County Jail was placed under supervision by the United States Department of Justice in 2007 for alleged civil rights abuses of the jail’s population, which …
Batson Up, Strike Three You’re Out: Eliminating Racial Bias in North Carolina Jury Selection
While organizations such as the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham have a goal of “spearhead[ing] litigation that addresses systemic injustices,” systemic racial discrimination of African American potential jurors through peremptory strikes (strikes without cause) remains a prevalent issue in the appellate and trial courts of North Carolina. Over …
Campus Sexual Assault: It Starts with an Assault on the Sexual Narrative
Problem Statement SHIFT NC, a statewide nonprofit working to improve adolescent and young adult sexual health, has made a lot of progress expanding sexual health education in North Carolina school districts. However, it excludes sexual assault prevention as an integral piece of sexual health. Yet organizations that target youth, like …
Liberal Arts Education in China: Transitioning Students and Faculties to Duke Kunshan University’s Liberal Arts Curriculum
Problem Statement In eight months, DKU will welcome its inaugural class of the undergraduate program. With 60 percent of the students coming from Chinese high schools and academic backgrounds rooted in Gao Kao preparation, DKU’s orientation program bears the challenging responsibility to transition Chinese students to understand and embrace DKU’s …