LAW STUDENTS VISIT HARWOOD CENTER
One of Memphis Law's greatest strengths is our ability to provide our students with real-world, hands-on learning opportunities.
In Professor Lynda Black's Nonprofit class, our students have studied the important roles played by the nonprofit sector and the need for broad-based community support for their missions. Recently, her class got a firsthand look at the Harwood Center, which is located on the UofM Park Avenue campus, for a real-world look at a vital community non-profit and how it is run.
Founded in 1957, the Harwood Center is a nonprofit agency that provides therapy and support for Mid-South families and children who have developmental disabilities, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder. Their program consists of therapeutic services for children age 2 through transition to kindergarten. Services are primarily offered at their clinic at the University of Memphis Park Avenue campus. These services are delivered by highly qualified, staff-led Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) and Speech Language Pathologists. Their mission is to help children reach their full potential by learning functional skills to enhance their development.
"Visiting Harwood Center was such a meaningful experience," said law student Cheyenne Staten. "I am so grateful to have such an incredible organization on our campus and to have the opportunity to see their mission in action. Witnessing their work firsthand truly brought to life the concepts and doctrines we've been exploring in our Nonprofit Organizations course. It was a deeply valuable experience—not just academically, but also as a way to better understand the many ways we, as law students and future attorneys, can get involved with and contribute to nonprofits in the community."
The experience has already led this group of students to begin discussions on how they can support and collaborate with Harwood Center and other non-profit organizations in Memphis.
"It was a pleasure to welcome Professor Lynda Black and her law students to Harwood Center. It is always an honor to share the rich history of Harwood Center in the Memphis community and to additionally discuss the purpose and vision of Harwood Center. The law students were able to take a tour of the newly built out facility that was opened in 2022. We warmly welcome Professor Black and her students as our newest Harwood Center Community Partners!"