ERIC ED440564: University-Community Partnerships in America: Current Practices. Volume III.

269 Pages·1999·4.2 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
HE 032 778
ED 440 564
University-Community Partnerships in America: Current
TITLE
Practices. Volume III.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC.
INSTITUTION
Office of University Partnerships.; Department of Housing
and Urban Development, Washington, DC. Office of Policy
Development and Research.
1999-00-00
PUB DATE
269p.; For Volume I, see HE 032 776.
NOTE
HUD USER, P.O. Box 6091, Rockville, MD 20849-6091. Tel:
AVAILABLE FROM
800-245-2691 (Toll-Free).
Directories/Catalogs (132)
Reference Materials
PUB TYPE
MF01/PC11 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
Adult Education; Community Services; Educational Research;
DESCRIPTORS
Higher Education; Outreach Programs; *Partnerships in
Education; *School Community Programs; *School Community
Relationship; Service Learning; Student Participation;
Student Volunteers; Teacher Participation
ABSTRACT
This publication highlights the work of institutions of
higher education and their surrounding communities throughout the United
possibilities of
States which are responding to the responsibilities and
their educational and social missions by mobilizing their collective
and the communities. In
resources in ways that benefit both the institutions
this listing of schools and programs, institutions are grouped according to
the following categories: service learning; service provision; faculty
involvement; student volunteerism; community in the classroom; applied
is
research; and major institutional change. For each listing, information
provided on the name of the institution, the program, and the president,
followed by a brief description of the program. Also included are an
alphabetical index of institutions, an index of contact information, and a
list of institutions by service categories.
(SM)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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Office of Educational Research and Improvement
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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
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CENTER (ERIC)
This document has been reproduced as
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received from the person or organization
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Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
official OERI position or policy.
Are., T ERS
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C RRERIT PRACTICES
VOLUME HI
1111111
fo
ffice of University Partnerships
Copies of University-Community Partnerships in America: Current Practices, Volume ///
are free from HUD USER.
Request the document by title and number. Orders may be placed by calling 1-800-245-2691
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Foreword
A powerful force for community revitalization is gaining momentum across the
country: university-community partnerships. In growing numbers, colleges and uni-
versities are collaborating with community groups to apply research, scholarship,
and service to real-life problems. They are integrating such partnerships into their
curriculum, academic studies, and student activities, making them part of their
ongoing mission. America's colleges and universities have more intellectual talent
than any other institutions in our society, and many of them are using these part-
nerships to tackle the complex socioeconomic issues facing the neighborhoods that
surround them, such as poverty, joblessness, crime, and homelessness.
The third volume in a series, this publication highlights some of the partnerships
and bold initiatives undertaken by institutions of higher education and nearby com-
munities. The partnerships combine the strengths of bothfor the mutual benefit of
both. Each partnership exemplifies an emerging new paradigm of scholarship, one
that moves beyond seeking and teaching knowledge to putting it into practice at
local schools, neighborhood organizations, and small businesses.
Many of these institutions are taking a cross-disciplinary approach to pressing
social issues and are institutionalizing community service and problem-solving
into every aspect of their mission. Undergraduates are engaging in community
projects to bring academic knowledge to everyday life. Graduate students are
working with local groups to apply research to community issues. Faculty mem-
bers are becoming practitioners and practitioners are coming to campuses to lec-
ture, teach, and advise. Classes and laboratories are now conducted in places
such as public schools, community centers, health clinics, homeless shelters, and
government offices.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and its Office of
University Partnerships commend these neighborhood-changing projects and part-
nerships. We celebrate the reinvention and reinterpretation of the traditional edu-
cational mission into one that includes a focus on community. Most of all, we
applaud the integration of such a mission into the everyday activities of research,
teaching, and community service. Finally, we hope that the innovative practices
featured in this book will inspire America's colleges and universities to create a new
generation of community development programs and initiatives.
Andrew Cuomo, Secretary
U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development
5
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CDg CCTEU110
COQ
Introduction
3
Service Learning
45
Service Provision
Faculty Involvement
11411
Student Volunteerism
1155
7
Community in the Classro
1
Applied Research
2011
223
Major Institutional Change
237
Institutions of Higher Learning Index
245
Contact Information
259
Service Categories
6
Introduction
University-Community Partnerships:
Meeting the Urban Challenge
University-Community Partnerships in America: Current Practices, Volume Ill, cele-
brates the growing number of commitments that colleges and universities are mak-
ing to their communities to provide better places in which to live, work, and learn.
The number of responses to the call for submissions for this volume is testimony both
to the success of these partnerships and to the continuing need within urban com-
munities. With a total of 342 colleges providing 599 entries, this issue includes more
than twice the number of activities featured in the first volume, which was published
only 4 years ago. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office
of University Partnerships (OUP) believes that this volume of Current Practices evi-
dences the combined strength of institutions of higher education, local governments,
community-based organizations, school districts, and public housing authorities act-
ing in partnership.
Colleges and universities are redirecting their economic and intellectual resources,
their facilities, and other assets to benefit their communities in many innovative
much-needed
ways. They are working to facilitate economic development, provide
social services, support public schools, offer technical assistance to community-
based organizations, target research that provides guidance for community prob-
lemsolving, and create opportunities for faculty, students, and community residents
to learn from one another.
The History of Current Practices
OUP was established in 1994 to encourage and fund institutions of higher educa-
tion to undertake community development activities. In Current Practices, the
Office continues to recognize and support colleges and universities as they forge
and expand partnerships to address urban problems from the neighborhood to the
city and the region. By serving as role models for other institutions of higher edu-
cation, the partnerships illustrated in this third edition of Current Practices lay the
foundation for future university-community alliances across the Nation.
Indeed, many of the colleges and universities highlighted in the first two issues of
Current Practices have since expanded to take on new partners and new activities.
For example, some institutions are now involved in their local Empowerment
Zone/Enterprise Community or in HOPE VI public housing revitalization activities.
Others have expanded an earlier collaboration with a single organization, such as
a school district or public housing development, to take on more comprehensive
neighborhood activities with many partners. Still others have initiated service learn-
ing programs for students or developed new curriculum on community building for
neighborhood leaders.
In This Volume
This volume of Current Practices is divided into seven subject categories that com-
prise the major general types of activity of university-community partnerships.
Although all the submissions involve partnerships with local governments or
organizations, they are organized by how colleges and universities implement
7
them. In cases where a far-reaching program
spans more than one category, it was
placed with the one that most closely describes its overarching
purpose. At the end
of the volume is a matrix that categorizes all the submissions by their substantive
area of activity (e.g., affordable housing, job training, etc.). The end of the volume
also contains a list of contacts, which OUP encourages its readers
to use for more
information about the programs.
The seven subject categories are as follows:
Service Learning contains descriptions of university
programs in which students
engage in service activities for credit as part of their coursework. Service learning
activities may consist of actual coursework or the provision of
a community service
that is related to a specific course of study. Generally, service learning
requires stu-
dents to reflect, write, or otherwise develop their understanding of the
issues they
have encountered through their work.
Service Provision describes noncredit student and faculty initiatives that
take
the form of coordinated, sustained, long-term projects targeted
to a specific com-
munity. These activities are designed to foster and nurture community partnerships
that benefit everyone involved.
Faculty Involvement profiles faculty members who embody the driving force
behind
activities within the community. These activities
are not necessarily related to course
work. Instead, they are often related to
an area of interest that generally addresses a
faculty member's established professional development goal.
Student Volunteerism includes tasks driven primarily by students. These
activities
are short in duration, unrelated to course work, and provide students with worth-
while positive experiences while allowing them to fulfill noncredit
graduation
requirements of volunteerism in community development.
The Community in the Classroom category depicts specific
courses for local resi-
dents designed to enhance community building and community
capacity. These are
nondegree, noncredit courses that support the institution's outreach
mission.
Applied Research describes specific, defined, pragmatic data collection,
analysis,
and reporting. The purpose of this targeted research is
to define needs, guide pro-
gram planning, assess outcomes, or otherwise contribute to efforts to improve
con-
ditions within the community.
Major Institutional Change portrays initiatives that change the
mission, promotion
and tenure criteria, awards, and course offerings of colleges and
universities. A spe-
cific activity may even overhaul administrative
processes to meet an institution-
community goal.
The Office of University Partnerships hopes that the
range of models presented will
spur widespread replication as institutions grapple with the common as well
as
unique challenges facing their individual communities.
C
RNIRI
9
Adler
Adler School Counseling Program
School of
For the past 6 years, the Psychological Services Center at the Adler School of
Professional
Professional Psychology has collaborated with private and public schools
in the
Psychology
Chicago area to provide community-based counseling outreach
to Latino and
African-American children. Clinicians in the Masters in Counseling Program and the
Randall Thompson,
Doctorates in the Clinical Psychology Program provide weekly services during the
school year. These students also gain supervised clinical experience
President
in school and
community-based counseling to further their
careers.
Targeting low-income schools with limited financial and professional
resources, the
Adler School Counseling Program emphasizes prevention. Services include individual,
group, and family counseling to children identified by the school as high risk for
emotional, educational, or community difficulties; psychoeducational
prevention
programs for entire classrooms; in-service and individual support for the teaching
staff; parenting classes; and community-building workshops for children,
parents,
and teachers. Because high crime rates and
gang involvement affect many residents,
the Adler School Counseling Program specifically addresses issues such
as family
dysfunction; drug and alcohol prevention;
gang involvement prevention; difficulties
with peers; behavioral difficulties in the classroom; self-esteem issues;
parenting and
teaching children in high-risk neighborhoods; and building community cohesion
among school, family, and church.
Allentown
Allentown College's Hispanic Initiative
College of
In 1994, the Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales established the
St. Francis
Hispanic
Initiative to address educational underachievement
among Hispanic students
de Sales
(grades 1-12) in the Lehigh Valley. In collaboration with representatives from
local
communities and businesses, the initiative aims to increase educational opportuni-
ties for Hispanics, resulting in more Hispanics entering the local workforce.
Daniel Gambet, OSFS,
President
Students from Allentown College's undergraduate
program serve as tutors and men-
tors in the initiative, which offers academic enrichment programs such
as summer
workshops and "College Days" programs for grades 6-8 and 9-12. These free
pro-
grams are 1-day activities tailored to age-specific issues such as SAT preparation,
choosing a college, and applying for financial aid. For students in grades
1-8, the
initiative also offers in-school enrichment programs that target early intervention,
improvement of academic skills, parental involvement, teacher and counselor
involvement, and raised expectations of teachers, administrators, and
parents. A 5-
day summer residence program for students in grades 6-8 and 9-11 highlights
aca-
demic, cultural, and social components. Academic support
programs offer tutoring
for students in grades 4-12.