DREXEL UNIVERSITY IN WEST PHILADELPHIA Colorado State University Jen Britton September 11, 2018
THREE DIMENSIONS OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT At Drexel we believe that looking outward from our campus and working for the greater good in partnership with our neighbors is at the heart of higher education’s mission We carry out this commitment through three pillars of civic engagement: aligning the core functions of the University—the academic mission, the service orientation of students and employees, and business operations—into a unified strategy 2
THREE DIMENSIONS OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Academic Integration Our faculty explicitly integrate civic engagement into research, coursework and clinical practice. Our academic programs allow our students to solve problems on the ground, interacting with residents, neighboring schools, community service agencies, and local businesses. Institutionally Supported Neighborhood Investment Drexel acts as an anchor institution in West Philadelphia, investing in the community through hiring and procurement, and supporting initiatives to improve economic opportunity and inclusion in the surrounding neighborhoods. Student and Employee Volunteerism Through the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement, Drexel offers high-quality, community-based volunteer opportunities open to all Drexel students, faculty and professional staff. 3
OUR GEOGRAPHY: THE WEST PHILADELPHIA PROMISE ZONE 4
UNIVERSITY & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS FUNCTIONS SR. VICE PROVOST UNVERSITY & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS COMMUNICATIONS & IMPACT LINDY CENTER DORNSIFE CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVES FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS Hyper-local Urban Extension Local to National Networks CIVIC LEARN LEAD PARTNER SERVE PROGRAMS PARTNERSHIPS DIALOGUE Community-based Community Scholars Local to National Student Volunteers Classes Academic Platform for Learning, Faculty Lindy Advisors Dragon Volunteers Workshops Neighborhood Discussing Issues Training & Support Student Orgs Monthly Dinners Non-Profits & Challenges ECONOMIC EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT WORKFORCE EARLY POWEL/ PROCUREMENT CONSTRUCTION K-12 DEVELOPMENT CHILDHOOD SLA-MS Local Sourcing of Economic Opportunity Promise Job Training for Supports for 23 Local Science Leadership Drexel and Vendor Plans for all Contracts Neighborhoods Drexel and Vendors, Childcare Centers, Academy Middle School Purchases Grant with 7 Schools Adult Education Parent Engagement 5
A LOCALLY ENGAGED ACADEMIC MISSION 6
A LOCALLY ENGAGED ACADEMIC MISSION: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IS APPLIED LEARNING Drexel academic units have a long tradition of teaching, research, and practice with a civic engagement lens ExCITe Center: A transdisciplinary research agenda connects tech with creativity, and an inclusive mission extends this knowledge to community partners Sheller 11 th Street Family Health Services: A comprehensive health services center brings health and wellness care to 11 th Street corridor residents while offering practical training opportunities for health professions students Peace Engineering: With an MS degree, fully participatory programming focuses on tools and tech for peacebuilding Center for Hunger-Free Communities: Participatory research and hands-on programs develop policy-and-practice solutions to poverty AJ Drexel Autism Institute: An Outreach Core serves families caring for a child with autism while also supporting autism research Drexel Edits (COAS): Students provide creative technical assistance to local NGOs 7
A LOCALLY ENGAGED ACADEMIC MISSION: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IS APPLIED LEARNING The Office of University and Community Partnerships offers a set of civic engagement resources to Drexel’s academic community The Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships provides a setting for Drexel’s students, faculty, and staff to work with neighbors on issues of shared importance. Academic departments carry out their own civic engagement missions with projects like the Community Lawyering Clinic, Community Wellness HUB, performing arts lessons, and Writers Room. The Lindy Center for Civic Engagement focuses on civic pathways for Drexel students by supporting a range of academic and co-curricular opportunities designed to foster community-based learning experiences that enhance student learning. Faculty are supported through professional development opportunities designed to share resources and best practices around community-based learning pedagogy and other forms of engaged scholarship. The Faculty Committee for Civic Engagement brings faculty members from all colleges and schools together to understand and build pathways for integrating civic engagement into Drexel’s academic mission. 8
A LOCALLY ENGAGED ACADEMIC MISSION: DORNSIFE CENTER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS The Dornsife Center serves people from the Drexel, Powelton Village, and Mantua communities, creating a shared space to work and learn together as peers Programs at the Dornsife Center grow out of the confluence of the needs and interests of neighborhood residents and Drexel’s knowledge resources and are provided by Drexel’s academic departments as well as key nonprofit partners in strategic areas The Dornsife Center is a place for civic dialogue and community building, ensuring that these engaged relationships are based in mutual interest and are community driven 9
THE THE D DORNS ORNSIF IFE CE CENTE NTER: R: C COM OMMUNITY L NITY LAWYE YERING RING CLINIC CLINIC The Thomas Kline School of Law combines the requirement for pro bono experience with community-identified legal needs to coordinate a free legal services program ü CLC is a two-term course in which students take on community clients, doing direct representation and pro se assistance , in cases related to topics of common interest like homeownership, employment discrimination, and public benefits access ü Students also publish reports on legal issues of community-wide concern that can be used by residents and civic leaders as policy resources ü In the past academic year, 71 residents attended legal training, 26 received legal advice, 45 received provider referrals, and 18 residents received direct legal representation. 10
THE THE D DORNS ORNSIF IFE CE CENTE NTER: R: C COM OMMUNITY W NITY WELLNE NESS HU HUB B The College of Nursing and Health Professions designed the Community Wellness HUB as a space for student hands-on experience, responding to health needs articulated by neighborhood residents ü Students and faculty from CNHP and the College of Medicine offer free screening for chronic health conditions as well as screening for sexually transmitted infections ü Sliding-scale behavioral health counseling provided by faculty in the Department of Counseling and Family Therapy ü Health education and awareness workshops on topics like food and nutrition, aging and mobility, and chronic health conditions 11
THE THE D DORNS ORNSIF IFE CE CENTE NTER: R: W WESTP TPHAL HAL C COL OLLEGE GE OF OF M MEDIA IA AR ARTS & & D DESIGN IGN ü Dance majors - many of whom are on a track to CNHP’s creative arts therapy MS - teach free dance lessons to children and adults , supervised by a tenure-track faculty member whose programming responsibilities are built into her job description ü Drexel music performance students teach music lessons in drum, piano, and guitar to neighborhood middle school age students ü Theatre and playwriting for middle school age students ü Music Industry department’s Mad Dragon Community Recording brings arts and technology training to youth and adults. During open lab hours, Drexel students and faculty guide community residents through audio recording and production techniques 12
THE D THE DORNS ORNSIF IFE CE CENTE NTER: R: W WRITE RITERS R ROOM OOM This project based in the Department of English & Philosophy fosters creative writing collaborations between Drexel students and neighborhood writers ü Uses writing workshops, special events, and Side-by-Side courses as a programmatic infrastructure ü Partnerships with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Canon create access for writers to special resources and tools ü Annual publication and celebration of an anthology featuring participants’ best work of the year ü Programming at the Dornsife Center and new space in MacAlister Hall create permeability between campus and community 13
THE THE D DORNS ORNSIF IFE CE CENTE NTER: R: S SCOP OPE & & IM IMPACT HIGHL T HIGHLIGHT IGHTS Since opening in June 2014, the Dornsife Center has had: ü 17,944 visitors have come a total of 93,855 times ü Total visits: FY2014 – 343; FY2015 – 20,442; FY2016 – 31,528; FY 2017 – 26,394 ü FY2018 – 3,422 visitors have come a total of 15,148 times to date ü 7,797 plates served at 46 monthly community dinners since July 2014 ü Average of 170 people attending each dinner ü Engagement numbers ü 15 Drexel colleges and schools engaged ü 16 Drexel centers/institutes/administrative units engaged ü 17 student organizations engaged ü 123 external organizations engaged 14
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