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| navigate: home: magazine: fall 2002: article | |
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Penn State McKeesport center strengthens connection with community By Kerry A. Newman | ||||||
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Due to Campus Executive Officer Dr. Curtiss E. Porter’s vision and generous funding from the Pittsburgh Foundation, Penn State McKeesport has new opportunities to extend the University’s resources to the community. The University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership (UCCEP) was established in 2001 to serve as a clearinghouse for the campus’ outreach work within the area. The center’s primary functions are to identify how University expertise and resources can aid the community, identify business partnerships that will be beneficial to the region and assist the citizenry as a community, workforce and economic development resource. “The vision for Penn State McKeesport is to care for and advance the success of our students and community,” Porter said. “The UCCEP is really a concrete example of what we mean by that.” Lou Anne Caligiuri, director of the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership, said, “In many ways, the office is about forming strategic alliances for the campus. Dr. Porter really has a vision for our campus to be fully integrated in the community and to be a catalyst for economic development in our region.” Much of the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership’s work within the community centers on economic and workforce development. Caligiuri and Aliya Farrish, a community development educator and the only other full-time UCCEP staff member, focus their efforts on making personal connections within the community and identifying where there are needs. Then, they follow up by matching University resources to the needs and establishing program initiatives. According to Caligiuri, much of her job is focused on “listening to the community. Building relationships is so much of what we are about.” “We want to have a bridge that really engages the community in a two-way conversation,” Porter added. “We see ourselves as the frontline of the land-grant philosophy; the UCCEP vitalizes that idea.” Since its creation, the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership has established a strong presence in the community. Program initiatives have been conducted or are under way across many disciplines. Caligiuri has worked with the Regional Business Alliance, an association of six local chambers of commerce, to design and lead their annual retreat. In addition, the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership joined with Team PA CareerLink to offer a regional career fair that focuses on the emerging career fields in southwestern Pennsylvania. Another initiative, the Community Assets Project, is focused on identifying the positive elements of the region and building on the region’s strengths. For this project, Penn State McKeesport faculty and staff will collaborate with area arts, cultural and heritage organizations to establish ways to celebrate the unique assets of the region. An important component of the center’s success is establishing strong partnerships both within Penn State and the community. For the recent Future Festival, held in Lincoln Place, the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership worked in conjunction with Dr. Nancy Crago of the Allegheny County Cooperative Extension office to bring different ages together to ask the question: “What would you like to see in the future of your community?” The program was based on the model established by Dr. Matt Kaplan, associate professor of agricultural and extension education in the College of Agricultural Sciences, who was an integral part of the planning process. By engaging people in interdisciplinary activities, the festival encouraged interaction and cooperation among youth and seniors as they participate in the community visioning process. A team of Penn State faculty, staff and graduate students is assessing the program for its strengths and weaknesses and analyzing its success. Using the Future Festival as a model, the goal is to develop a plan for delivering similar programs to other communities in the Mon Valley. “We’re trying to work with other units to strengthen what we’re doing at Penn State McKeesport,” Caligiuri said. Service-learning opportunities for Penn State McKeesport students also arise from inquiries to and partnerships developed by the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership. Since the Office of Student Affairs manages a strong service-learning program, UCCEP is working in conjunction with the unit to match students with service-learning projects that can benefit the community. The opportunities are abundant. Under one faculty member’s leadership, a Penn State McKeesport class helped write a business plan for a local Boys/Girls Club, while in another instance, a student was able to help develop a Web site for the McKeesport Collaborative, an organization that represents the continuum of care for infants through seniors in McKeesport. Currently, Quinta Nwanosike, a sophomore from Zambia, is serving as an intern on a committee established by county executive Jim Roddey to explore the development of an eco-industrial park in the region. Caligiuri described the center as an “extended laboratory for students” that helps provide students with real-world work experiences. Through the center, partnerships have been formed with area colleges and universities, too. Penn State McKeesport has partnered with the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University to develop an educational training program for small business manufacturers within the region. Caligiuri said that the partnership not only benefits the training participants, but also will give faculty opportunities to conduct research and students hands-on experience working in the field. Penn State McKeesport also has partnered with Good Schools Pennsylvania, a nonprofit coalition of grassroots, statewide and national organizations seeking to mobilize parents, students and concerned citizens to advocate for improved public education. Through this collaboration, the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership staff is providing training to help citizens develop skills in advocacy while offering workshops on issues of educational funding, school improvement and accountability. Center staff members hope to train more than 400 citizen advocates in the coming year. While initial funding comes from the Pittsburgh Foundation, the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership receives support from other Penn State units and shares costs with external organizations when collaborating on programming. To date, the Penn State Equal Opportunity Planning Committee has funded a Penn State McKeesport Math and Science Summer Camp for middle school students. The goal of the camp, to be launched in 2003, will be to help minority students who are largely underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering develop their math and science skills. The Outreach Partnership Fund has also provided support for a collaborative venture between the Community and Economic Development program of the College of Agricultural Sciences and the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership. Through this funding Frank X. Higdon, senior lecturer in community development, and Naomie Nyanungo, doctoral student in adult education, are conducting research to help the center determine the need for intergenerational programming. In addition to providing more opportunities for students, Porter also reiterated the importance of expanding the center’s staff and the need to build a physical facility. He also hopes the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership will serve as a model for other Commonwealth College campuses to follow. “That would be a powerful statement on behalf of Penn State and its mission—in terms of its ability to engage the state overall for continued social and economic development,” he said. For more information about the University Center for Community Engagement and Partnership, contact Lou Anne Caligiuri by phone at 412-675-9025 or by e-mail at lac24@psu.edu. | |||||
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© 2002 Outreach Communications, Outreach & Cooperative Extension, The Pennsylvania State University phone: (814) 865-8108, fax: (814) 863-2765, e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu |
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