Yale College Senior Wins Hegel Prize for Essay on New Haven Life

Yale College senior Laura McCargar will receive the Yale Club of New Haven’s second annual Richard Hegel Prize for her senior essay that focuses on public housing in the community.

A team of faculty judges selected McCargar’s essay – “HOPE for Community? Quinnipiac Terrace, HOPE VI and Community in Public Housing” – from among several entries. Her interest in HOPE (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) grew out of her experience working in public housing over the past two years. McCargar noted that to many people, “public housing” and “community” seem anomalous terms. Her paper used an ethnographic approach to critique current public housing policy with an eye toward how it impacts the community dynamic. Quinnipiac Terrace is a public housing development located in Fair Haven along the western shore of the Quinnipiac River.

Douglas W. Rae, the Richard S. Ely Professor of Management and professor of political science at Yale, will present McCargar with the award at a ceremony during the Yale Club’s annual meeting on May 13 at noon at the New Haven Lawn Club.

“It’s a wonderful way for the Yale Club to recognize and celebrate the bond between New Haven and Yale,” said Melanie Ginter of the Yale Club. “Laura’s essay is an ideal way for people to see New Haven’s leadership in exploring issues of community and urban renewal. The Yale Club is pleased to honor her with the Hegel prize.”

“I feel quite honored to win the Hegel prize,” said McCargar. “The paper gives residents’ voices priority and authority, and I’m most pleased about the award because it means that the thoughts, concerns and experiences of public housing residents may have a greater opportunity to be heard.”

Richard Hegel, Class of 1950 (Engineering), for whom the $500 prize is named, said McCargar’s essay illustrates that demolition and redevelopment can yield a mixed income community and an economically integrated neighborhood.

“In her excellent essay, Laura has provided us with a study of improvements in lifestyle that could be realized from the HOPE VI program,” added Hegel, librarian emeritus of Southern Connecticut State University and municipal historian for New Haven. “It addresses better living conditions in public housing and also an improvement in the overall quality of life for residents. A significant contribution of her essay is the documentation of the existing quality of life at Quinnipiac Terrace.”