IUPUI-WESCO Partnership: A Campus and Community Collaboration

1. IUPUI-WESCO Partnership: A Campus and Community Collaboration Meg Easter-Dawson, IUPUI Office of Neighborhood Partnerships Diane Arnold, Hawthorne Community Center

2. IUPUI-Westside Cooperative Organization (WESCO) Partnership • Partnership with WESCO geographic area established in 1997 • Campus Infrastructure: creation of IUPUI Office of Neighborhood Partnerships • Funding from HUD Office of University Partnerships, Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) grant (1998 & 2003) • COPC Council as partnership governing body • Involved over 25 campus schools and departments to date, and over 200 students and 20 faculty/staff annually • Based upon the WESCO Strategic Plan, the Partnership initiatives focus on: economic development, organizational development, educational policy and programming, health promotion and education, and financial literacy.

3. Goals of IUPUI-WESCO Partnership 1. Develop a Council to act as a mechanism for continued dialogue between IUPUI and Near Westside. 2. HUD’s resources will complement IUPUI resources already committed to building a partnership with the Near Westside through the Office for Neighborhood Partnerships. 3. Campus, Community, and external resources will be brought together to bear on the “need” areas identified by WESCO. These needs are WESCO organizational development, economic development, and education policy and programming, health promotion and education, financial literacy, and predatory lending. 4. Substantially increase and institutionalize the interaction and exchange of knowledge between the residents of the Near Westside and IUPUI. 5. Create a means to coordinate the interaction of the distinct academic units on the IUPUI campus with the residents of the Near Westside.

4. Examples IUPUI-WESCO Partnership Initiatives EDUCATION POLICY AND PROGRAMMING • America Reads Tutoring Program • Westside Education Task Force ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT • Community Partner Scholar Program • Fundraising School ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT • Economic Development Reports

5. Examples IUPUI-WESCO Partnership Initiatives HEALTH PROMOTION • WESCO Community Health Survey • WESCO Health Report Card • Health Promotion Programs • Hawthorne Community Garden FINANCIAL LITERACY • Financial Literacy Workshop Series • Predatory Lending Campaign

6. Why Campus-Community Partnerships?Benefits to University • Allows university to strategically focus resources and better track impact • University and community develop better understanding of each other’s assets, needs, business practices, and cultural norms • Community organizations become experienced in dealing with students, faculty, and staff and can better meet their needs as well as own needs • Allows university to better respond to pressing community issues and concerns

7. Why Campus-Community Partnerships?Benefits to University (cont) • Helps to build power collectively • Ensures university’s are fulfilling their civic mission • Increases relevance of academic programs • Increases university’s visibility locally and nationally • Recruitment of students • Increased access to funding opportunities

8. Why Campus-Community Partnerships?Benefits to Community Partners • College student understanding and potential for informed citizenship • Exposure of young residents to the possibility of higher education • Access to expertise of faculty members • Access to people who can serve on boards or participate meaningfully in community planning • Access to campus resources (libraries, gymnasium, and other intellectual and recreational facilities)

9. Why Campus-Community PartnershipsBenefits to Community Partners (cont) • Expansion of community partner’s own approaches to an issue • Opportunities to learn new skills and tools • Expanded resource base, including grant opportunities • More legitimacy, stature, or credibility for affiliation with higher education • Mission advancement

10. Assessing Partnerships • What is the impact of the university’s work on the community organizations and/or community members? • What is the community’s impact on the university, students, and faculty? • How does the community conduct business differently because of the partnership? • How does the university conduct business differently because of the partnership? • Relationship Assessment (difficult issues, variety of activities)

11. Assessing IUPUI-WESCO Partnership • Fundamental purpose: to consider whether the collaborative relationship between WESCO and IUPUI had improved over the course of the COPC grant • First of two goals stated in the original grant proposal: • “use a COPC Council to sustain discourse between IUPUI and WESCO.” • “to solve real problems of daily life through research and outreach projects,” • Community partners input on assessment design • Interviews with 21 individual stakeholders from campus and community

12. IUPUI-WESCO Assessment Results • Of program areas, education component viewed as most successful • 90% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that “IUPUI institutional leadership have demonstrated support for improved relations with WESCO” • 95% agreed or strongly agreed that “interactions between WESCO and IUPUI during the past 3 years have increased as a result of COPC activities” • 95% agreed or strongly agreed “during the past 3 years, there is clear evidence that IUPUI and WESCO can discuss difficult issues with each other” • Positive growth in the relationship between IUPUI and WESCO, as evidenced by increases in spontaneous activities not related to COPC programs

13. Follow Up to Assessment • Focus more attention and resources towards education initiatives • Re-energized commitment to partnership and building on success to expand • Clear and ongoing communication

14. Summary • Sustainable long-term partnership • Mutually beneficial • Continues to evolve as community and campus change • Stay within missions • View each other as neighbors with interrelated futures