Community Outreach & Engagement Update
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University of Pittsburgh Honored with 8th Consecutive HEED Award
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Pitt among 90 institutions nationwide recognized for an outstanding commitment to equity, inclusion
For the eighth year in a row, the University of Pittsburgh has received a national award honoring its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education.
The Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award is presented each year by Insight Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest publication dedicated to advancing best practices in diversity, equity and inclusion in U.S. higher education.“The University has made a significant commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Clyde Wilson Pickett (EDUC ’17G), vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion and chief diversity officer. “It’s a commitment from our leadership to the community. We’re pleased to be acknowledged — I know we’re in excellent company.”
Centering diversity, equity, and inclusion at Pitt has led to measurable improvements in student success, retention of faculty, and recruitment, he said.
Pickett said the University also looks to other winners of the HEED award as benchmarks for comparison. “Of course, we want to celebrate our wins, but we also want to identify areas where we can improve,” he said.
Pitt is among 90 universities and colleges across the U.S. honored this year. The HEED awards are granted based on a comprehensive application that assesses student recruitment and retention, hiring practices and leadership support of programs and outreach.
In September, the University was honored as a Leading Disability Employer by the National Organization on Disability. Pitt has also been recognized for programs like the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute; the schools of medicine and social work recently received a $5 million NIH grant to test the anti-racism program’s efficacy.
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Community Engagement Professional Courses are now available!
Pitt's Office of Human Resources has opened registration for the Faculty and Staff Development Program (FSDP) for the fall term. The Office of Engagement and Community Affairs teaches three courses through this program for interested faculty and staff members who want to learn more about how to be an effective and ethical collaborator to Pitt's local communities.
These courses include:
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Community Engagement Fundamentals - Thursday, October 17, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
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Community Partnerships - Wednesday, November 20, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
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Equity and Inclusion Considerations for Engaged Scholars and Practitioners - Wednesday, December 11, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The courses are hybrid; taught in-person at 342 Craig Hall, 200 S. Craig Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 or via Zoom.
If you are interested in completing the full Community Engagement Professionals Certificate program, you can take 3 additional elective courses in diversity and inclusion, sustainability, global competence and workplace knowledge and finish by responding to a capstone prompt.
Register for classes today!
2024 Ohio River Basin Alliance Summit
The University of Pittsburgh will be hosting the 2024 Ohio River Basin Alliance Summit (ORBA) on Wednesday, October 30 through Friday, November 1, 2024 in the William Pitt Union, 3959 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Join our friends and colleagues in the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory along with many other water advocates within the region for the three-day event that will feature engaging speakers, unique field trips, and ample opportunities to network with water professionals across the Ohio River Basin.
This summit will feature sessions and workshops designed to bring together community, agency, academic, government, and non-profit groups. Cost is $150 for general admission. Graduate student cost is $50 and undergraduate student cost is $25. Register today!
Inclusion Network Retreat is October 17th
Pitt's Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion’s next Inclusion Network retreat will be held on Thursday, October 17, 2024 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Alumni Hall, Connolly Ballroom.
This is an opportunity for everyone who works in equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility across the University’s many units to gather and discuss community building, competency development, and engagement. In addition, we’ll talk about programming ideas that support equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility across the University’s campuses and beyond. Register for the event.
University Center for Social and Urbran Research Workshop
Join the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs and the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) for an overview and interactive workshop on the ways UCSUR can support faculty and staff in doing community-engaged research on Monday, November 4, 2024 from 2 to 4 p.m.
You will learn about the center's support services in: Surveying, Qualitative Methods, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Western PA Regional Data Center and Urban Regional Data Analysis. This workshop is appropriate for faculty who are interested in undertaking community-engaged research as well as those who have active engaged research projects and are looking for methodological support. Register today!
How Pitt is helping the commonwealth thrive in an increasingly digital world
Pennsylvania faces one of the United States’ lowest levels of digital literacy and connectivity, according to its Department of Labor and Industry. To address this issue, the Greater Pittsburgh Digital Inclusion Alliance (GPDIA) convened a network of Western Pennsylvania organizations and launched a targeted effort to bridge the region’s digital divide. Collectively, they invited the University of Pittsburgh to be a core partner, providing backbone support for their efforts.
Together, they formed the Pennsylvania Leading Equity Access Program (PA LEAP) and submitted a $16.8-million, four-year proposal for funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to build such a bridge in 14 local counties, 11 of them rural. Learn more from Pittwire.
Pitt’s United Way Campaign is back
Pitt’s United Way Campaign has returned for another year of giving and impact. Pitt will continue this partnership guided by the leadership and vision of the 2024-25 campaign chair, Vice Chancellor of Engagement and Community Affairs Lina Dostilio. She will work in tandem with the campaign director, Kelly Gilliam, to meet the goals outlined for the year.
Find a list of volunteer opportunities, workshops and events on the campaign website. Staff and faculty can record up to 7.5 hours per month on their timecard for volunteer service, with supervisor approval. Questions can be directed to PittUnitedWay@pitt.edu or by calling 412-624-5800.
Call for Artists: Envisioning a Just Pittsburgh 2024
For the second year in a row, the University of Pittsburgh is excited to call all members of the Pittsburgh community to submit creative works of all kinds to help us envision a just Pittsburgh. This is a juried art exhibition. Jurors will review the images of submitted work based on the criteria of the call: does the piece inspire and expand the consciousness of what a thriving Pittsburgh regional community would be, is it bold and authentic, does it inspire and challenge others?
Submissions are due October 10, 2024. All works are eligible for award distinctions and awardees will be announced in December 2024. Full details, including monetary awards, are available online.
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Join the 2024-2025 Mid-Career Learning Community
Campus Compact is now accepting applications for up to 15 practitioner-scholars to join the 2025-2026 Mid-Career Learning Community, a cohort-based leadership and professional development experience designed for mid-career community-engaged faculty and staff.
Program Calendar
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Applications close: December 6, 2024.
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Selected participants announced: January 6
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In-Person opening retreat: March 31, 2025 at Compact25 in Atlanta, GA
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Virtual meetings: 1:00-2:00 pm PT / 4:00-5:00 pm ET, first Thursday of each month May 2025 - February 2026
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In-person closing retreat: March 16, 2026 at Compact26 in Chicago, IL
The cost to participate is $175 per person, and limited scholarships may be available. Participants are also expected to cover their own expenses for attend Compact annual conferences. Learn more about this program and register today!
How Your Institution Can Support Community-Engaged Transition Plans for State and Local Elected Officials This Year
Join the University of Maryland and Maryland’s Secretary of Appointments Tisha Edwards as they introduce the components of the Civic Transition’s Toolkit. Learn how the University of Maryland worked with the Moore-Miller gubernatorial campaign to implement this toolkit and the lessons they learned along the way. In addition, learn how your university/college could engage campaigns in utilizing this toolkit during the crucial months before and during the transition.
The virtual session will take place on Monday, October 14, 2024 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. Register today!
Campus Compact Member Open House Sessions
Find out how to get the most out of Campus Compact membership! Attend a virtual Open House to discover the information you need about the tools, resources, and programs available to Campus Compact members. You’ll hear about ways everyone on your campus—faculty, staff, senior leaders, and students—can leverage Campus Compact membership to support institutional priorities and move forward civic and community engagement work. Open to existing and prospective members!
Sessions:
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Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 3 to p.m. ET
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Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET
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Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 2 to 3 p.m. ET
Registration is now open!
Register for Michigan State University's Community-Engaged Scholarship Writing Retreat 2024
Come write with us! The fall Community-Engaged Scholarship Writing Retreat returns to a rural setting at the Bay Pointe Inn on beautiful Gunn Lake in Shelbyville, Michigan (about a 90-minute drive from campus). We have reserved two full days to step away from work and home responsibilities to write together.
You are expected to have a writing project (or multiple pieces) in mind and to bring along your laptop, power cord, and writing materials. Some participants attend with their project teams to write collaboratively.
As much as possible, protect this writing time. Past participants have cleared their meeting schedules, turned on their out-of-office email notices, and let their colleagues know that they will be busy those two days. You will benefit the most from this retreat if you do not have other meetings during your precious writing time.
Location: Bay Pointe Inn, Shelbyville MI
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2024 - Friday, October 25, 2024
Registration Deadline: Friday, October 18, 2024
Find more details about the retreat and register online today.
For more information about this event, please contact: Julie Crowgey, crowgeyj@msu.edu, 517‑884‑1407
Registration is now open for the The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Annual Meeting
Come to the 2024 APLU Annual Meeting on November 10-12, 2024 in Orlando, Florida for an unparalleled gathering of thought leaders and innovators in public higher education. The theme of this year’s meeting is Our Public Purpose, which will celebrate and explore the value proposition and mission of public research universities in a moment filled with vast challenges and opportunities.
Learn about the issues facing public research universities across North America while reaffirming the commitment to serving the public good through education, research, and engagement. Register for the meeting online.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)'s 2024 Conference on Global Learning
The AAC&U Conference on Global Learning explores practical and theoretical approaches to global learning at the course, departmental, and institutional levels. This conference includes opportunities to examine tactics and strategies that make global learning experiences more inclusive. It will take place on October 24 – 26, 2024, at the Westin Washington, DC.
The 2024 Conference on Global Learning will showcase the full range of global learning activities, programs, strategies, and approaches used by educators worldwide to prepare students for work, life, and citizenship in our interconnected world. Conference sessions will focus on:
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including all students in global learning;
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making the case for global learning at all levels: disciplinary, program, and institutional;
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advancing collaborative research to address global challenges through student learning;
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defining and framing global learning to meet local and global realities;
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integrating institutional inclusion efforts with global learning;
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exploring global learning in diverse international contexts;
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embedding and integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals;
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engaging and exploring belonging for international students with recognition of their individuality and intersectionality;
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exploring ways of integrating technology in global learning to improve the quality of learning and global engagement for students;
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connecting intercultural skills and cultural humility to student learning in academic and applied learning opportunities.
AAC&U invites students, educators, administrators, and policymakers to join us for these action-oriented, forward-thinking conversations about reimagining global learning. Register for the event.
Community Conversation: Student Basic Needs
If you are interested in better supporting students who experience uncertain access to food, housing, mental health, transportation, technology, childcare, and other essentials, please join us for an informal discussion on student basic needs. Our discussion will be facilitated by Stacy Priniski, Ph.D., assistant research professor with an appointment at The Hope Center, Temple University. Potential topics of discussion might include our own campus initiatives, expanding the basic needs ecosystem on campuses, ways CUMU can better support your work in this area, and other topics participants bring to the table. In this Zoom meeting, CUMU members will connect with others from our network, share what they are doing on their own campuses, and collect useful resources in a shared Google doc that attendees can take with them as a resource.
Date and Time: Monday, November 4, 2024, 2 p.m. ET
Location: Virtual
Register today!
The Transformative Potential of the Growing CWB Movement Webinar
Join The Democracy Collaborative and our practitioner-partners for a 90 minute webinar showcasing the evolution of Community Wealth Building (CWB) in the United States. Community Wealth Building (CWB) is an economic development model that transforms local economies based on communities having direct ownership and control of their assets. It challenges the failing approaches that have been widely accepted in American economic development for too long, and addresses wealth inequality at its core.
Date and Time: Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Virtual
Register for this virtual event.
Presenting at the 2024 CUMU Conference? Call for Manuscripts
The Metropolitan Universities journal is accepting full manuscripts for the upcoming 2024 CUMU Conference Issue: Beyond Boundaries. The issue is scheduled for publication in summer 2025 and the call is open to presenters at the conference. Amplify your work and learn more about the submission process on the CUMU website.
Manuscripts are due December 1, 2024. Please direct any questions regarding this issue to:
MUJ Dialogue Series: Public Scholarship for Innovative Practice
Exploring Campus-Community Relationships
Moderator: Patrick Green, Editor, Metropolitan Universities
Metropolitan Universities, the journal of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities, provides an opportunity for scholarly peer-reviewed online publication that centers the relationship between communities and campuses. In this webinar series, authors and editors discuss key ideas from the most recent issue and invite readers to join in the work of connecting our scholarship to our practice.
In a recent issue, a variety of authors composed research and praxis articles exploring various facets of campus-community relationships. From case studies on anchor institution models and place-based education to exploration of dual enrollment, community partnerships, trauma-informed practices, and global education in online spaces, this issue broadly addresses complex themes inquiring into higher education and community relationships. How do we deepen our institutional engagement with community, overcome barriers, increase access, and foster student success?
This session takes place on Thursday, November 21, 2024 from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Register for this webinar today!
Exploring the Knowledge of Worldview Frameworks
In the third in the AAC&U-CILMAR Global Learning Webinar Series, students’ understanding of the history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, or beliefs and practices of other cultures is often superficial, at best. But as their knowledge of worldview frameworks deepens, students demonstrate an increasingly sophisticated understanding of these complex cultural elements and their importance to members of other cultures. But what exactly is knowledge of worldview frameworks, why is it important, and how can it be measured? What forms of teaching and learning are most effective in supporting student progress on this key dimension of intercultural knowledge and competence?
For answers to these questions, join us on Wednesday. November 6 at 12 p.m. ET for a 90-minute webinar presented in partnership with the Purdue University Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment, and Research (CILMAR). Register now!
Centering Indigenous Knowledge Webinar Series - Fall 2024
The Centering Indigenous Knowledge Webinar Series—Fall 2024, organized by Montana Campus Network for Civic Engagement (formally, Montana Campus Compact), will return in the fall of 2024 with a program highlighting Indigenous people's scholarship, academic work, and cultural contributions to higher education.
The Fall 2024 series continues under the theme "Indigenous People and Place," focusing on diverse history, literature, and philosophy. This four-part series will focus on the theme of Indigenous people and place and explore people’s millennia-spanning relationships with and the significance, history, and power of place.
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Thursday, October 17, 2 to 3 p.m.
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Thursday, October 24, 2 to 3 p.m.
Register for the last two sessions!
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Greater Hazelwood
Better Block Greater Hazelwood
The Better Block Foundation, Hazelwood Initiative, Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative, the Center of Life, and the Richard King Mellon Foundation invite you to volunteer with the Greater Hazelwood Better Block initiative, a community-led demonstration located at 4915 Second Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15207. The transformation will be active on October 26 to test community-driven changes to public space and community engagement. We invite the community to use this space to its full potential during this time!
We need your help building, painting, unboxing, and putting together the community event. Over these volunteer workshops, we will be exploring placemaking and learning how quality public space can affect a community!
All ages are welcome. We are in need of volunteers so please sign up for as many volunteer workshops as you like, and we will see you in Greater Hazelwood!
Volunteer dates and shift times are below:
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Wednesday, October 23 - Morning Shift: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Afternoon Shift: 4 to 7 p.m.
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Thursday, October 24 - Morning Shift: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Afternoon Shift: 4 to 7 p.m.
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Friday, October 25 - Morning Shift: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Afternoon Shift: 4 to 7 p.m.
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Saturday, October 26 - Event Setup: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon). Event Assistance: 12 (noon) to 4 p.m. Event Clean-up: 4 to 6 p.m.
Monongahela Marsden Block Association Victims of Violent Crimes Luncheon
Celebration of Life with Keynote Speaker Leon Ford
Saturday, October 12 at 2 p.m.
Spartan Community Center, 134 E. Elizabeth Street, 15207
Join the Monongahela Marsden Block Association for a luncheon to celebrate the lives of victims of crimes, their survivors, and families. Please RSVP at 412-273-5877.
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Hill District
Save the Date: Sam Rivers Concert featuring members of the RivBea Orchestra
Part of the 54th Annual Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert
The University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) is partnering with Pitt Jazz Studies and CEC Hill District to host a concert on Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at 7 p.m. at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 2001 Wylie Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, featuring the music of Sam Rivers, whose archives and papers the ULS recently acquired.
As part of the annual Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert, we are also hosting a panel discussion with former members of Sam’s orchestras on Monday, October 28, 2024 at 4 p.m. at Hillman Library.
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Homewood
Book Club: Poverty in America
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Pittsburgh is hosting a five-week discussion course titled "Book Club: Poverty in America" led by Dr. Ralph Bangs. The class will be ready book titles: "White Poverty," "Poverty, By America," " Injustice of Place," Poverty in the Pandemic," and "Broke in America." These classes will be hybrid and can be attended online or at the Community Engagement Center in Homewood (622 N. Homewood Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15208).
For more information about this course and other courses for adults 50 or better, check out olli.pitt.edu.
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