Welcoming the Fellows, Part 2: Stephanie Dolamore

Fellow Stephanie Dolamore getting an eyeful of Baltimore

Stephanie Dolamore has a strategy for addressing residential challenges for traditionally under-served populations: first, by exploring the past, and assessing Baltimore’s issues in finding sustainable housing for people in need. Second, by getting the word out--via symposium, the classroom, or even by creating what she calls an "empathy museum" where insights into housing history can be brought to life.  Dolamore is a graduate research assistant pursuing her doctorate in Public Administration at UB, and one of the fellows doing research in Langsdale Special Collections this summer (check out our interview with the other fellowship recipient, Caitlin Rathe, here.) All of this research will culminate in a program on August 31st, where Dolamore and Rathe will present “Meeting Basic Needs: Structural Inequality and Public Services in Baltimore” (4:30-5:30 p.m., Bogolmony Room, UB Student Center-- mark your calendars!.)  In the meantime, Stephanie agreed to give us a sneak peek at what she’s uncovered in Special Collections so far.

Welcoming the Fellows, Part 1: Caitlin Rathe

Caitlin sizes up the scene

When Caitlin Rathe, a student at University of California Santa Barbara, jetted into chilly Baltimore from the sunny Left Coast last February, she wasn’t entirely sure she was going to find what she was searching for. Rathe is a doctoral student in history, who has been focused on the story of welfare and how it changed in the United States during the late 20th century. She narrowed her focus on 1970s and 1980s-era food assistance in order to make the topic more manageable. Conversely, that’s when things got tricky.