Profile: The Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research and Center for Manpower Studies at The University of Memphis

The original Bureau of Business and Economic Research was established in 1963 and has served as the primary applied research and public service unit of the Fogelman College of Business at The University of Memphis. Since that time, financial support of the bureau has been provided by the university and has included designated grants from the City of Memphis and Shelby County Government. Over the last 40 years, the bureau has worked to support the teaching, research, and public service mission goals and objectives of the college and the university. In 2003, in recognition of its strong research history and excellent service, the bureau was formally renamed after Willard Sparks and became the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research (SBBER).

The Center for Manpower Studies (CMS) at The University of Memphis was organized in 1970 as part of a nationwide institutional grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). The center is perhaps the only remaining university-based program funded by the institutional grant program. The center has trained students, conducted labor market research, and provided technical assistance and support activities throughout the South for more than three decades. Twenty years after the institutional grant program ended, the center continues to provide the full range of services initially envisioned by the USDOL. Through contract funding and university support, the center continues to train students, conduct research, and provide technical assistance and training for professional staff of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and other state agencies involved with education and training activities.

Since 1986, the SBBER and the CMS have conducted postprogram client surveys for state and local governments in Tennessee. For example, the SBBER and the CMS have surveyed approximately 100,000 individuals leaving programs such as the Job Training Partnership Act, the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program, the Families First Program, the Workforce Investment Act, and the Vocational Rehabilitation Program. The SBBER and the CMS have also conducted numerous economic impact studies for local and regional governments and nongovernmental agencies.

The combined SBBER and CMS staff, which includes professional staff, support staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, and consultants, totals 60 members. The staff is stationed on The University of Memphis campus, downtown Memphis, West Tennessee, and Nashville.

For more information concerning the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research and the Center for Manpower Studies, please visit http://www.people.memphis.edu/~bberlib/, or contact the staff at:

Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research
The University of Memphis
330 Deloach Street, Suite 221
Memphis, TN 38152-3130
901-678-2281

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