Back to Top

Southern Colorado Center for Politics and Public Affairs

About the Center

The SOCO Center for Politics and Public Affairs is a focal point for scholars, students, and community leaders across Southern Colorado.  Housed in the POLS program at CSU Pueblo, the Center for Politics and Public Affairs aims to apply academic research to pressing policy issues across Southern Colorado, while simultaneously providing professionalization opportunities for CSU Pueblo students.  The Center for Politics and Public  Affairs seeks to…
  1. Leverage the academic research of CSU Pueblo faculty to address pressing policy issues in the Southern Colorado community.
  2. Become a focal point of collaboration between the Southern Colorado community and CSU Pueblo through the hosting of yearly community events.
  3. Support student research and professionalization opportunities across the CSU Pueblo campus and within the Southern Colorado community.
  4. Amplify the voice of the Southern Colorado community to state-level policymakers.

Summit on Public Policy Education and Research (SPPEaR)

This past April, the SOCO Center hosted its 1st Annual Summit on Public Policy, Education, and Research (SPPEaR). This summit featured a short presentation from Professor Eddie Lucero on voter turnout trends in Pueblo's 2023 Mayoral Election. The findings indicate that there was a large number of unregistered voters in the election. In addition, older, women, and white voters were overrepresented in the Pueblo electorate. To see the results from the analysis click here

In addition, the summit featured a roundtable discussion on pressing policy issues affecting the SOCO community. Nonprofit and community groups represented at this roundtable included Action Colorado, Mothers Out Front, Project Apollo, and United Way Pueblo. Topics discussed included climate change and sustainability, grassroots mobilization, coordination of nonprofit services, the unhoused crisis, and services to individuals addicted to controlled substances. We would like to thank all participants for sharing the amazing work their organization are doing in the community!

The SOCO Center plans to host the next SPPEaR event sometime in late spring 2025. If you and your organization would like to participation in our roundtable or you have ideas on a public policy topic please contact Professor Eddie Lucero, Director of the SOCO Center, at eddie.lucero@csupueblo.edu. 

 Roundtable discussion at 1st SPPEaR

 

Discover CSU Pueblo

students studying in LARC

Request more information about our degree programs, activities, sports, application process, and more!

Request Information

Advising

two students smiling
The PACK Center and HSB Advising are available to assist you. Stop by or call for support. PACK: 719-549-2584, HSB: 719-549-2142.

Request More Information

Department of History, Political Science, Philosophy & Geography

Faculty and Staff

Back to Top