The Center for Community Research and Development (CCRD) was established at Baylor University in 1979 as a multidisciplinary entity with a mission of engaging Baylor faculty and students in applied social research to improve the local quality of life.  Over time, the CCRD has broadened its focus, sometimes engaging in statewide or national research, and the CCRD has become closely linked with Baylor’s Ph.D. program in Applied Sociology, where PhD students serve as center research analysts.  Still, our research remains multidisciplinary and many of the CCRD’s projects retain a local quality of life focus.