Abstract:

During the past decade, urban colleges and universities have been undergoing changes attributable to the reemergence of community engagement/outreach initiatives. More recently, these outreach efforts have been specifically designed to increase community engagement among faculty and students, while simultaneously contributing to the institution’s scientific, policy and social service expertise to improve the cities where they are located.

As anchor institutions that are embedded in communities that have critical needs, these institutions have opportunities to become change agents in collaborating with local entities to address social inequities and build strong, safe healthy neighborhoods and sustainable small businesses.

Research supports the concept that leadership is an essential element of metropolitan universities’ ability to foster cultures that are committed to community engagement. At Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N), the development of a comprehensive strategic plan served as a framework for addressing issues of social and environmental inequalities collaboratively with community residents and stakeholders.
The Office of University-Community Partnerships (OUCP) at RU-N serves as a nexus that connects students, faculty and staff-to forge, create and promote reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships that support and align with institutional strategic engagement priorities. Our model employs key elements of successful partnerships which includes, building trust, cultivating meaningful, sustainable relationships, leveraging resources, integrating expertise, intentional action and alignment. Building on key elements such as trust, alignment and reciprocity, established through community engagement; strategic intentional interactions with community leaders and residents, our approach to outreach is guided by the principles of Community-Based Participatory Inclusion( CBPI) in which community members are actively involved in all stages of planning, implementation, and evaluation.

The workshop will highlight innovative university-community partnership models.

The Rutgers University-Newark African American Brain Health Initiative (AABHI) has offered community education and interventions to address brain and mental health disparities in the local African-American community. Working in collaboration with local community-based, faith-based, and public housing organizations throughout Greater Newark and with the support of city, county, and state offices for health and aging, our multi-disciplinary team provides health educational programming and research participation to address early cognitive decline in older African Americans.

The Entrepreneur Empowerment Initiative (EEI) is a collaboration with America’s Small Business Development Center-New Jersey (NJSBDC), Rutgers Business School (RBS) staff, students, business owners, residents and other stakeholders. The goal of the Entrepreneur Empowerment Initiative (EEI) was to increase community wealth through the investment in human capital in the area of entrepreneurship and its impact on the economic well-being of the neighborhood. America’s SBDC consultants and RBS staff developed a comprehensive small business survey instrument that assessed the business needs and interest of existing businesses within a 42 block catchment area that is being transformed by the city with support from the university utilizing a collective impact model.

Keywords:

Community Engagement, Anchor Institution, Entrepreneurship, Collective Impact.