Dr.
Philip W. Rhoades, professor of criminal justice and coordinator of
the master of public administration program at Texas A&M
University-Corpus Christi, received a Texas A&M University System
Community Collaboration Award at a ceremony at the George Bush
Conference Center and Library in College Station. The award was
presented to 16 people, each nominated by a TAMU System university or
agency, for his or her collaborative efforts to strengthen
communities. The ceremony was part of the TAMUS symposium,
“Meeting the Challenge, Best Practices in Building
Communities.”
Rhoades was honored for his longstanding efforts to reduce violence and support families, children, and youth in the Coastal Bend region. He has been an advisory member of the City of Corpus Christi Commission on Children and Youth since its creation, and was the primary writer/editor of the commission's master plan, adopted by the City Council in 1997.
“The Corpus Christi Commission on Children and Youth has been quite time consuming over the past two years, first in creating it and then in implementation,” Rhoades said. “The master plan is very preventively oriented, but is comprehensive, and so includes intervention and enforcement provisions.”
The City of Corpus Christi is presently involved in a federal grant to help communities implement prevention of serious, chronic and violent juvenile crime. A federal consulting team is looking at the master plan as a blueprint for other communities. “In the long run, if you don't have a comprehensive strategy such as our master plan, federal funds for programs may be limited,” Rhoades said.
He has been actively involved with the Child Abuse Prevention Council of South Texas for many years, and served on the Mayor’s Task Force on Crime, which led to the adoption of the Texas Cities Action Plan to Prevent Crime in Corpus Christi. Most recently, he was elected vice president of the Nueces County Children’s Advocacy Center board of directors.
Rhoades said, “The center evolved from the Child Abuse Prevention Council of South Texas. The center provides counseling for children and families where sexual abuse has occurred. This is also a facility where a child can be interviewed in a safe and child-friendly environment.” Rhoades said an average of 50 children are assisted through the center each month.
Rhoades has authored many papers on criminal justice and is a valued and frequent speaker and adviser to numerous community groups and agencies.
