University & Community Partnerships

Great Cities Institute

http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/gci

University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Cities Institute (GCI) is a research center committed to creating, disseminating and applying interdisciplinary knowledge to urban affairs. It implements dozens of teaching, research and service programs designed to improve the quality of life in metropolitan Chicago and other urban areas. Among its programs is its Neighborhoods Initiative, which works with local community groups on health, technology, leadership development, and other issues of mutual concern.  Through this initiative, GCI serves as the group responsible for providing project management, community engagement, and evaluation around Chicago’s Participatory Budgeting Project, an effort that has engaged over 13,000 residents in 12 different communities around deciding how to spend over $18 million in public dollars.

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EPICS-Engineering Projects in Community Service

http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu

Since its formation in the fall of 1995, over 2,000 Purdue students have participated in 150 projects. Each team has a multi-year partnership with a community group. Projects can focus on human services, access and abilities, education and outreach, or the environment. Purdue's EPICS program is a model in engineering for marrying learning and engagement and is headquarters for the National EPICS program. Today, EPICS programs are operating at 15 universities, with over 1,350 students participating on 140 teams in 2003-04. Read more about EPICS-Engineering Projects in Community Service...

Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership

http://www.community.duke.edu

The Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership began in 1996 as a way to engage Duke University and its people in a structured partnership with the surrounding community. To date, Duke has helped to raise more than $12 million to invest in its partner neighborhoods. Duke's work in this area includes support of affordable housing (including a $4 million investment in Self-Help, a community development lender), the operation of two community health centers, and an after-school program for at-risk students in local public schools. Read more about Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership...

The Cornell-Ithaca Partnership Computer Project

http://www.cs.cornell.edu/wallis/COPC

The Cornell-Ithaca Partnership Computer Project aims to address the "digital divide" by providing under-served youth with opportunities to acquire computer skills and Internet access in their own neighborhood. Read more about The Cornell-Ithaca Partnership Computer Project...

Rutgers Camden, Civic Engagement

http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/node/276

Rutgers Camden campus has a wide variety of community programs. One of these efforts is the LEAP Academy, a K-12 charter school initiated by the university that is designed to accommodate up to 700 students as well as develop model practices for implementation in surrounding public schools. Read more about Rutgers Camden, Civic Engagement...

Center for Urban Research and Learning, Loyola University

http://www.luc.edu/curl

The Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) of Loyola University Chicago connects Loyola faculty and students with community and nonprofit organizations, civic groups, and government agencies. By working closely with community leaders outside the university, the Center combines the knowledge and experience of both university researchers and non-academic individuals and organizations to effectively address community needs. Read more about Center for Urban Research and Learning, Loyola University...

Center for Urban Initiatives and Research

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CUIR

The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee has been a national leader in the movement to increase universities' community engagement. Its Center for Urban Initiatives and Research (CUIR) provides research services and technical assistance to public and non-profit organizations in many areas, including strategic planning facilitation, survey research, and neighborhood analysis and mapping. Read more about Center for Urban Initiatives and Research...

Center for Economic and Community Development

http://cecd.aers.psu.edu

The Center works closely with Pennsylvania regions and communities on issues of economic development, land use, local government finance, and community asset building. Posted in its website are community profiles of economic and demographic indicators by county. Read more about Center for Economic and Community Development...

Center for Diversity and Democracy, University of Southern California

http://www.college.usc.edu/cdd/home/index.cfm

Through research, teaching, and civic engagement, the Center for Diversity and Democracy at the University of Southern California seeks to answer the question of how the world's diverse cities can overcome ethnic and religious tensions that are often present and instead maintain democratic and just communities in which individuals feel a shared citizenship.  The center strives to accomplish this goal through developing a faculty and student body that is representative of the local community and by creating partnerships with local, national, and international anchor institutions that are int Read more about Center for Diversity and Democracy, University of Southern California...

Center for Community and Economic Development

http://www.cedp.msu.edu

The Center for Community and Economic Development at Michigan State University in East Lansing operates with the express purpose of developing and applying knowledge to address the needs of society – primarily in distressed urban communities. Read more about Center for Community and Economic Development...

Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships

http://www.upenn.edu/ccp/

The Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships is the University of Pennsylvania's primary vehicle for community-oriented real-world problem solving. The center enlists the broad range of knowledge available at a research university in its efforts to help solve the complex, comprehensive and interconnected problems of the American city. By linking theory with application, the Center works to create a mutually beneficial relationship between the University and the West Philadelphia community. Read more about Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships...

Washington Semester, Transforming Communities Program, American University

http://www.american.edu/washingtonsemester/transforming/index.cfm

American University's "Washington Semester" Transforming Community Program aims to introduce help students learn the art of transforming communities by putting them in contact with the individuals who have faced the challenges and experienced the rewards of this work. During the course of the semester-long program, students meet with representatives of all three branches of government, the advocacy and litigation community, grassroots nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and policy organizations. Read more about Washington Semester, Transforming Communities Program, American University...

Community Research & Learning Network

http://www.coralnetwork.org

The Community Research & Learning Network (better known as "CORAL"), which was incorporated as an independent nonprofit in 2003, acts as a network for community partnership efforts at seven DC-area colleges: namely, American University, Catholic University of America, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Trinity University, University of the District of Columbia and the University of Maryland-College Park. Read more about Community Research & Learning Network...

Center for Urban Progress, Howard University

http://www.coas.howard.edu/hucup

The Center for Urban Progress is an interdisciplinary center that mobilizes the Howard University community to address critical local, national, and global urban issues through applied and community-based research, academic programs, technical assistance to public and private agencies, program evaluation, and demonstration projects.  Since its establishment in 1995, it has employed over 90 graduate students in research, development and service activities, has engaged over 4,300 graduate and undergraduate students in service-learning and research activities, and has partnered with over 100 community- and faith-based organizations.

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Center for Social Justice, Georgetown University

http://csj.georgetown.edu

The Center for Social Justice, first formed in 2001, aims to promote and integrate community-based research, teaching and service by collaborating with diverse partners and communities. Key programs include a program that recruits an estimated 150 Georgetown students each semester to spend four to six hours a week teaching immigrant students in DC public schools English and other subjects, designing courses that build in opportunities for direct or indirect service in the local community as part of the curriculum, and support for community-based research projects. Read more about Center for Social Justice, Georgetown University...

Community Development and Entrepreneurial Clinic, Seattle University

http://www.seattleu.edu/albers/inner.aspx?id=23000

This joint effort between the Entrepreneurship Center and the Seattle University School of Law links current law students and clients of the Entrepreneurship Clinic. These students, themselves mentored by local entrepreneurs, attorneys, and business owners during the process, provide pro bono advisory services to prospective small business owners, selected from two community base micro-lending organizations: Community Capital Development and Washington CASH. Read more about Community Development and Entrepreneurial Clinic, Seattle University...

Carlson Center, University of Washington, Seattle

http://depts.washington.edu/leader/about/index.html

The Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center strives to develop service-learning, community-based participatory research by incorporating academic coursework with community-based learning and leadership. Founded in 1990 with a $100,000 gift from Seattle civic leader and former CEO of United Airlines and the Westin Hotels, the Carlson Center promotes volunteer and internship opportunities that address contemporary issues and problems, make contributions to the local community, and promote development of the skills of effective citizens and leaders. Read more about Carlson Center, University of Washington, Seattle...

San Jose State University, Center for Service Learning

http://www.sjsu.edu/ccll/

San Jose State's Center for Service Learning was established in January 2000. The CSL helps students develop the knowledge, skills and motivation to become lifelong participants in public life, with a focus on solving community problems. The program aims to integrate academics and community service, support faculty and empower students to help solve community problems, instill an ethic of moral and civic responsibility, inspire leaders in social justice, and build community as a metropolitan university in a diverse urban environment. Read more about San Jose State University, Center for Service Learning...

National Hispanic University, Early Childhood Education Center

http://www.nhu.edu

Founded in 1981, San Jose's National Hispanic University aims to serve the needs of Hispanics, women, other minorities and other learners. The University works closely with community groups and in September 2005 won a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development to purchase and renovate a property adjacent to the University to develop El Centro de Excelencia – an Early Childhood Education Center—in cooperation with area nonprofits and government agencies. Read more about National Hispanic University, Early Childhood Education Center...

Neighborhood Leadership Academy (Univ. of Missouri)

http://www.umslce.org/index.php/neighborhood-leadership-academy/384-about

Bringing together a diverse group of up to 20 current or potential neighborhood leaders each year, the University of Missouri-St. Louis's Neighborhood Leadership Academy offers 10 sessions over a four-month period on leadership training that focuses on community building principles, organizational leadership and management practices, and personal leadership skills. Each participant completes a personal leadership development plan and designs a community-building project for their neighborhood.  To date, the program has graduated more than 270 neighborhood leaders.

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