C&J Colloquium Series: Arvind Singhal

Positive Deviance (PD) is a novel approach to social change based on the observation that in every community there exist certain individuals or groups whose uncommon behaviors and strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than their peers, while having access to the same resources. The PD approach has been employed in over 40 countries to address a wide variety of social and organizational purposes, including decreasing malnutrition and infant and maternal mortality in Vietnam and Pakistan, increasing sales and business development in Mexico and the U.S., reducing school dropouts in Argentina and in the U.S.; and reducing hospital-acquired infections in the U.S. and Colombia. Driven by data, the PD approach questions the normative ways of conducting expert-driven needs assessment and gap-analysis, and follows a systematic process of uncovering cost-effective and culturally appropriate solutions from within the local community. Arvind Singhal, Ph.D., is the Samuel Shirley and Edna Holt Marston Professor of Communication and Director of the Social Justice Initiative at the University of Texas at El Paso. He also holds an appointment as Distinguished Professor II at Hedmark University College, Norway. He has worked on launching PD initiatives in over a dozen countries, coauthoring three monographs and various articles and case studies on the topic.

A reception for Dr. Singhal will follow the colloquium, beginning at 4:45 p.m. at the Bandido Hideout on 2128 Central Ave. (Pay as you order.)