Proposal for Strengthening Community- University Partnership

1. Proposal for Strengthening Community- University Partnership St. Cloud State University Brittany Wilson, Team Leader Rebecca Fonss, Hailey Olson, Amanda Thielen

2. Welcome! Today we will introduce our initiatives to address the mutual concerns of the community and university regarding student behavior complaints. Our proposal is based on research and theory with practical applications for both communities. Objectives: • University’s Potential Value on Sunnyvale Community with Use of Comparison Data • Application of Theory/Learning Outcomes • Immediate Response • Long-Term Solution • Integration of Social Media in Proposal

3. SU’s Potential Value on Community “Greater awareness of local contributions was associated with perceptions of a more favorable relationship with the university” • $1.4 million is spent by students at off campus locations per year • University creates approximately 1,800 jobs either directly or indirectly • Free events and reduced cost events open to the community • Close proximity and access to post-secondary education for high school students *Model University Data from Scranton University, Scranton PA

4. Value of Community/University Relationships • Those individuals who have attended an event at the university will be more likely to indicate that the university is an asset to the community. • Researchers asked “What is ‘one thing’ you would like to see the university do?” The results showed that community memberswanted the university to “invite” them onto campus (41%). • The results showed a significant difference exists between those community members who have been on campus and those who have not based upon the issues of trust, openness, and investment. • These data suggest that this relationship-building strategy is mutually beneficial because (a) community members attend events that are of interest to them, and (b) the attendees have a more favorable impression of the institution as a result. (Bruning S. D., McGrew S., & Cooper M, 2006)

5. Immediate Response to Community Concerns • Sunnyvale University/Community Day • This initiative will be implemented in the next 2-3 months because it is important that we show a tangible effort to be invested and connected with the community. We will have the opportunity to be visibly present in the community as well as communicate some of our vision and goals to those we are looking to connect with. This will also give us the opportunity to validate concerns and show we will be moving forward to make improvements with all of the Sunnyvale community. • Good Neighbor Campaign • This initiative has already been implemented through the use of Facebook & Twitter for promotion of campaign initiatives.

6. Sunnyvale University/Community Day Day will be organized by Sunnyvale University Activities Committee and the Chamber of Commerce • Purpose: To provide a means for both the community members and university staff and students to come together as one and increase awareness of the roles each of them play • Secondary Purpose: To have fun!

7. Sunnyvale Community/University Day Cont. Schedule • 9:00am-12:00pm Clean Up Project • Community members and students join together on community beautification projects • Those students who chose to participate will get a free SU t-shirt and a meal ticket for any of the community vendors participating in the day • 12:00pm-5:00pm Social Gathering • Food will be provided by community businesses • Live music from both communities • Trivia games will be provided with information about the community and the university in order to increase their knowledge of one another • Prizes will be provided by the university for outdoor games • Additional Programming from 12:00pm-5:00pm • Student Organizations will be there with booths in order to promote their purpose and increase awareness of their clubs • Competition amongst the student organizations for best potential community-university partnership projects • Speaker from the university will address the students about the long-term plans for the partnership • Panel discussion will be provided for those community and university members who want to have an open dialogue with one another about the partnership

8. Good Neighbor Campaign Good Neighbor PSA Video This campaign is in place to provide students with tips and strategies to help them make a more positive impact on their neighbors and understand the rules for living off-campus.

9. Integration of Social Media • We will incorporate Twitter and Facebook into our Good Neighbor Campaign because approximately 1 in every 13 people in the world are Facebook users. • Weekly “good neighbor tips” posted on Facebook and Twitter • Recruit SU students and community members to join FB page and follow Twitter • Additional outreach for the Good Neighbor Campaign • Flyers distributed and news updates, event info.. • Mailed to students who live off-campus • Emailed to all SU students (Hepburn, 2011)

12. Long-Term Solution • Future Social Event Programming • Sunnyvale KidU • Service Learning Program • Community Relations Coordinator • Off-Campus Housing Contract

13. Future Event Programming Future Event Programming • Continued momentum from community day • Science Fairs • Art Fairs • Poetry Slams • Live Music Nights • Community Beautification Days • And More! Sunnyvale KidU • Opportunity for the elementary-aged youth in the community to take part in “college classes” at the university • Course topics designed to introduce future career interests and college involvement • Classes taught by SU professors and graduate students • Participating children are recognized for their accomplishments with graduation ceremony and diploma

14. Sunnyvale’s Service-Learning Program • What is Service-Learning • Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. • Sunnyvale’s Service-Learning Outcomes/Goals • To enhance students' learning by enabling them to practice skills and test classroom knowledge through related service experiences in the local community • To enable students to provide needed assistance to community agencies and to the people served by the agencies • To assist faculty in their role as facilitators of service learning and in their engagement with the community * Modeled after Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

16. Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning SU’s Service-Learning program will be grounded in the tenets of this theory • David Kolb’s theory offers insight beneficial in our proposed integration of experiential learning and community involvement • Kolb defined learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (Evans et al., 2010, p. 139) • Kolb examined the different learning styles used by college students and ways for educators to enhance development through challenge and support (Evans et al., 2010)

17. Creation of Community Relations Coordinator Position • The university will enlist the help of a staff member in the Office of Sponsored Programs to assist with the development and implementation of the grant application and subsequent funding for this new position • As Dean of Students, our office will apply for a grant through the Corporation for National & Community Service • This corporation provides grants specific to Service-Learning outcomes and opportunities • The position of Community Relations Coordinator would start out as grant funded, with the intention of creating a more permanent position once data is available to support its usefulness and therefore secure further funding (Learn and Serve America)

18. Community Relations Coordinator Responsibilities • The new Community Relations Coordinator will work with faculty to expand on their individual Service-Learning projects and recruit other faculty to use Service-Learning in their courses using the following benchmarks • Design partnerships based on the values of sharing and reciprocity • Community partnerships that are beneficial to students, fit into course curriculum and meet a community need • Building collaborative work relationships among partners • Fostering and improving on established relationships to insure trust and mutual respect between the university and community • Sustaining the partnerships • Linking partnerships to the mission of the institution and installing a mechanism for evaluation (Torres J. & Schaffer J., 2000)

19. Off-Campus Housing Contract An additional duty of the new Community Relations Coordinator will be to partner with Residential Life to create an off-campus housing contract that contains this honor pledge which aligns with mutually agreed upon university/community mission… • Good Neighbor Pledge - I will take responsibility for myself and the choices I make. Give my best in showing respect for myself and others. Act daily to build a welcoming community and make a different in the lives of others. (University of California-Berkley, 2012)

20. Applying Kolb’s Four-Step Cycle of Learning (Evans et al., 2010)

21. Summary • Implementation of initiatives presented here today will support the sustainability of the objectives discussed • Sunnyvale University (Faculty, Staff and Administration) must commit and be invested in this community partnership to successfully accomplish the goals presented • Thank you for your support and investment in these immediate and long-term responses

22. References • Bruning S. D., McGrew S., & Cooper M. (2006). Town-gown relationships: exploring university-community engagement from the perspective of community members. Public Relations Review, 32 (2006), 125-130. dor:10.1016/j.pubrev2006.02.005 • Campus Compact, “Deepening the Roots of Civic Engagement.”, 2008-2011 Annual Survey. http://www.compact.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/2011-Annual-Survey-Executive-Summary.pdf • Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn, K. (2010). Student Development in College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Guarasci, Richard. “How Can Colleges Spark Economic and Community Development.” 22 September, 2012 Huff Post College, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-guarasci/college-community-engagement-_b_1821358.html • Hepburn, Aden (2011). Facebook Statistics, Stats, and Facts for 2011. http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/ • Learn and Serve America, http://www.learnandserve.gov/for_organizations/funding/index.asp • Torres J. & Schaffer J. (2000). Benchmarks for Campus/Community Partnerships. Introduction to Service-Learning Toolkit, 101-108. • University of California-Berkley (2012). Partysafe @Cal Good Neighbor Tips. • University of Scranton “Economic and Community Impact” http://www.scranton.edu/about/community-relations/economic-impact.shtml • Warwick University Community Relations [Partial Video File].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/user/uniwarwick