
Collaborating for Change: PARTNERSHIPS TO TRANSFORM LOCAL COMMUNITIES U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research Preface here is a relatively small office here at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that has made a very large impact on communities T nationwide. Its name—the Office of University Partnerships (OUP)—tells you everything you need to know about its work. For the past 16 years, OUP has managed a variety of grant programs that offer financial support and technical assistance to help colleges and universities carry out community development activities in their neighborhoods. Over the years, OUP grantees have been extraordinarily successful in achieving great outcomes with relatively small staffs and modest funding. How do they accomplish this? Without exception, every good thing that these institutions of higher education (IHEs) accomplish in their communities is achieved through partnerships. As its name indicates, the Office of University Partnerships encourages and supports these collaborations. Partnerships are at the core of OUP’s mission and a hallmark of every project to which OUP provides financial and technical support. OUP grants provide colleges and universities with a unique opportunity to work closely with their neighbors, which include community-based organizations, local government agencies, public schools, houses of worship, civic associations, housing developers, Tribal councils, health professionals, cultural organizations, banks, local merchants, foundations, environmental groups, social service providers, individual residents, and many other stakeholders. IHEs contribute a host of financial and in-kind resources; extensive knowledge about relevant community-development issues; research capabilities; and the energy and enthusiasm of faculty, staff, and students. Their partners bring an intimate knowledge of community issues and residents as well as a proven ability to get things done at the local level. The community-based relationships that develop during an OUP grant period endure long after grant funds have been spent. These relationships are a powerful force behind the kind COLLABORATING FOR CHANGE: PARTNERSHIPS TO TRANSFORM LOCAL COMMUNITIES of permanent, transformative change that allows communities to help their residents build brighter futures for themselves and their families. With this first volume of Collaborating for Change: Partnerships to Transform Local Communities, HUD and OUP celebrate the campus-community collaborations that are changing the economic and social landscape of large and small, urban and rural communities nationwide. This first volume focuses on the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities Program, the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program, and the Doctoral Dissertation Research Grants Program. The second volume will examine the work of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities. We congratulate our grantees on a job well done, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to their community partners, who have added so much to OUP-supported efforts to revitalize local communities. Contents Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 Section 1: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities ............................................................. 7 Profile: Midland College........................................................................................9 HSIAC Snapshots .....................................................................................31 Section 2: Tribal Colleges and Universities ........... 57 Profile: Salish Kootenai College.....................................................................59. TCUP Snapshots ......................................................................................69 Section 3: Research Grants ................................................ 77 . Profile: Tatjana Meschede, University of Massachusetts Boston................................................................................79. Research Grant Snapshots .....................................................................97 Appendix ............................................................................................ 107 HSIAC Grantees, 1999–2009 ................................................................. A-1 TCUP Grantees, 1999–2009 .................................................................. B-1 Research Grantees, 1994–2009 ............................................................. C-1 v Introduction By Armand W. Carriere he importance of colleges and universities to the continued growth and well- being of our nation has long been acknowledged. As Americans, we celebrate T the quality and accessibility of our institutions of higher education (IHEs), even as we work to make curricula more relevant and access easier and more affordable. We believe, and rightly so, that by training our future leaders and by adding to our research-based knowledge, higher education plays a critical role in preparing our country for future challenges. Those challenges will have an impact on the quality of life of many Americans, including those experiencing poverty and economic insecurity, those struggling to manage chronic health issues, and those living in communities that could benefit from economic development and neighborhood revitalization efforts. As colleges and universities seek to make an impact in these and other areas, their work inevitably extends beyond the formal classroom to encompass their states, cities, and local neighborhoods. Recognizing that they can accomplish more if they do not act alone, these IHEs often collaborate with community leaders, organizations, and residents to design projects and programs that address and assist in solving community problems. In the end, these collaborations make the community-based work of IHEs richer, more relevant, and far more effective because of the unique experiences, skills, and perspectives of those involved in the efforts. A Brief History of Community Engagement Historians describe a variety of influences that helped create an approach to higher education that fosters community engagement. Those influences include the religious-based service Armand W. Carriere is a former Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for University Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Before his retirement in 2005, he worked at HUD for approximately 16 years. Mr. Carriere is now a Visiting Fellow with the New England Resource Center for Higher Education. 1 COLLABORATING FOR CHANGE: PARTNERSHIPS TO TRANSFORM LOCAL COMMUNITIES orientation of Colonial-era colleges and universities (later to be known as Ivy League institutions); the Morrill Act of the mid-19th century, which expanded education and services to a growing agrarian economy; and the Settlement House movement of the late 19th century, which saw institutions like the University of Chicago collaborate with Hull House to provide education and services to a predominantly immigrant urban population. The belief that colleges and universities should no longer be ivory towers that are cut off from the outside world began to evolve even further during the 20th century, when the social turmoil of the 1960s and the end of the Cold War caused IHEs to revisit their research agendas, their curricula, and their relationships with their host communities. More recently, the concept of campus-community engagement has been championed by organizations such as Campus Compact, Campus Community Partnerships for Health, and, most significantly, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD created the Office of University Partnerships (OUP) in 1994 as a vehicle to provide colleges and universities the financial and technical support they needed to assist in the revitalization of their local communities in partnership with their neighbors in those communities. For the past 16 years, OUP has supported more than 300 IHEs in their efforts to step outside the boundaries of their campuses and to join local residents in powerful initiatives that address such community- identified needs as affordable and decent housing, job creation and training, health promotion, small business development, and access to technology for residents of every age and income level. Those initiatives—and those partnerships—continue to this day. How have colleges and universities been able to take on such diverse and difficult challenges? The answer is simple. They did not do it alone. As the very name of OUP indicates, they did it through partnerships. Characteristics of Successful Partnerships There is no single definition of partnership as it relates to campus-community engagement. A partnership may be a well-established and ongoing relationship between the campus and a single community-based organization or multiple community partners. Or it could be a single, discrete collaboration with a defined beginning and ending. A partnership might involve a single faculty or staff member who serves in a consulting role to a community-based organization or local government agency. Or it could involve an entire academic department or campus-wide center that enables teams of faculty, staff, and students to work with community partners on pressing community issues. If the college or university has received a grant from HUD or another funding
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