C3EN is deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and Community Stakeholder Advisory Council member Joyce Chapman, who passed away on September 27, 2023. Joyce served the city of Chicago in many ways: as a teacher and a school principal, as an advocate for children in the criminal justice system, as the founder of the Far South Chicago Coalition and the Pullman Community Development, as a member of the Chicago Board of Education and as chair of the Chicago Public Schools’ Far South Community Action Council. She helped run the Neighborhood Housing Services Board and the Gately Park Advisory Council and was a beat facilitator in the Chicago Police Department’s Calumet District. A powerful community activist, Joyce organized many peace rallies, food drives, and back-to-school events for students over the years. Just before her passing, Joyce had given a state of the community address and described next steps for the Far South Chicago Coalition Quality of Life plan.

At C3EN, Joyce was a fiery representative of the far south side, Phalanx Family Services, and her Pullman neighborhood, always advocating for the needs of the community as the primary driver of our research.

To honor her memory, C3EN’s minigrant program, which awards up to $3,000 to support development of community partnerships that will strengthen health disparities research, has been renamed the Joyce Chapman Community Grant.

“Joyce’s vision was very aligned with the vision of C3EN, which is to build coalitions of diverse organizations and individuals to fight for social justice,” says C3EN co-director Elizabeth Lynch. “It is difficult to bring organizations with different cultures and goals together, but Joyce stood out in her ability to do that. In the little time we had with Joyce, she helped crystallize C3EN’s vision and showed us what is possible. We hope the Joyce Chapman Award will help continue her legacy by facilitating partnerships between researchers and community organizations who can work together to achieve our dream of a just society.”

“We feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten to know Joyce better during the last months of her life. It was too short. We lost an incredible community leader but she left an incredible legacy and a strong coalition of organizations,” says C3EN co-director Elbert Huang. “We will do the best we can at C3EN to carry out Joyce’s mission through our community-engaged research.”