REPORT TO CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY

2011

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-FLINTUNIVERSITY OUTREACH

OUR VALUESBEING IN SERVICE

University Outreach engages with hundreds of community-based organizations each year. Most often that engagement involves students. We identify the needs, struggles, and common interests of our partners so we can best access collective resources. Through this process, community needs are met and students are transformed. By maintaining balanced partnerships with those we serve, University Outreach has built trusted relationships to benefit the greater community.

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPSBuilding stronger connections between people, land and community is at the core of University Outreach work. Building upon Michigan’s rich history of resource conservation, University Outreach is concerned with the relationships between land, water, people and our state. We embrace contributing to healthy lifestyles and communities, while building a stronger, more resilient Michigan.

JUSTICE AND FAIRNESSUniversity Outreach promotes justice and fairness in our work. By acknowledging that all voices and viewpoints are important and valuable, we demonstrate our commitment to sharing power and challenging others to do the same. Providing access to University and community resources, fostering relationships, supporting partnerships, and promoting action contribute to a fairer, more just community.

COMMUNITY-BUILDINGUniversity Outreach supports communities that are working to protect natural assets and rebuild their economies. We provide neutral spaces for those with resources and those with needs to come together to solve problems, which builds community. Our inclusive and solution-based approach helps unite communities, and builds local, regional, and national networks. These contribute to a positive and prosperous future for those we serve.

ECONOMIC VITALITYUniversity Outreach supports innovation and creativity, and fosters a culture of entrepreneurship. Working collectively to develop and retain talent will lead us to a vibrant local community. Our Innovation Incubator helps students navigate the extraordinary economic challenges facing their communities.

Gary Ashley, Project Coordinator

Kelli Catrell, Grants & Contracts Administrator

Sherry Hayden, Administrative Assistant

Jonathan Jarosz, Director

Elizabeth Lowe, Program Assistant

Sara McDonnell, Project Coordinator

Mona Munroe-Younis, Project Coordinator

Leyla Sanker, Community Outreach Coordinator

Lindsay Stoddard, Multimedia Designer

Dale Tuttle, Innovation Manager

Barbara Urlaub, Administrative Assistant

Bill Wright, Innovation Mentor

STAFF

University Outreach at the University of Michigan-Flint

works to facilitate learning and engagement through thoughtful collaboration and partnerships with campus and community.

site: www.umflint.edu/outreach stories: www.umflint.edu/engagement

The EMBERS traveling theater production gave 7 performances to more than 500 audience members across Flint.

In 2011, the Carnegie Foundation announced that UM-Flint was one of 115 colleges and universities which earned the

Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement. Only 311 institutions nationwide have been selected for the designation.

The cast of the EMBERS theatre production – consisting of UM-Flint students and community members, including Flint youth – performs at Peace Mob Gardens, near an arson site. Photo: Marwan Prince

BEING IN SERVICEAfter watching Garland Street houses burn just blocks from campus with other Flint residents, Professor Andrew Morton wanted to use the craft of theater to foster community healing and dialogue about the 2010 rash of arsons. Engaging his Collective Playwrights Workshop class and community members, through partnerships developed with University Outreach guidance, the EMBERS Flint Fires Verbatim Theatre Project was born.

This year, Andrew and his students worked collaboratively with the Hispanic Community & Technology Center, Kearsley Park Block Revitalization Project/Peace Mob Gardens, Raise It Up! Youth Arts & Awareness, and Urban League of Flint to interview 75 community members and leaders about their experiences with the fires. They wrote an original script reflecting Flint’s diverse neighborhoods and voices, and performed the play across the community. Morton’s own research, on how theater can develop “citizen-artists,” was informed by the project. EMBERS is a prime example of how UM-Flint is an engaged campus, where faculty and students integrate their teaching and learning with research and service.

In 2011, UM-Flint was awarded the prestigious Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement, and gained national recognition as a highly engaged campus. According to the Carnegie Foundation, community-engaged campuses demonstrate a commitment to “the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.”

FAST FACTS:

University Outreach provided support to numerous conservation projects spanning 22 counties in

southeast and mid-Michigan.

Land Trust Alliance, a national nonprofit which promotes private land conservation, contracted with University Outreach

to produce maps for the Collaboration of Ohio Land Trusts. The hard-copy and online interactive maps detail service areas

of land conservancies across Ohio.The Flint River during the 2011 Boats, Bikes, and Brick Exhibition Triathlon. Photo: Andrew Wheatley Photography

FAST FACTS:

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPSUniversity Outreach projects build healthy relationships and stronger connections between people, land and communities across Michigan. By supporting individuals, organizations, government agencies and partnerships, we uphold quality of life for our state’s residents. We encourage investment in our communities through efforts to promote land conservation, protect water resources and develop recreation.

A collaborative effort in Mt. Pleasant produced the “Discover the Chippewa River” water trail map, created to advance recreational use and stewardship of the Chippewa River. Partnership with the Cass River Greenway Committee continues to strengthen the connections between people and the river to preserve water quality and encourage behaviors that positively impact our environment and water resources.

Because Michigan is rich in natural areas, identifying high quality natural lands for preservation is necessary to support smart land development and to prioritize use of limited financial resources for land protection efforts. Development of the Lower Cass River Natural Lands Inventory, along with the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy Strategic Conservation Plan, advances the goal of supporting land protection. University Outreach also supported nine conservancies, represented in the Land Conservancies of Southeast Michigan Collaboration, in developing a green vision for southeast Michigan.

In the City of Flint, University Outreach provides assistance to the Flint River Corridor Alliance, a collaborative supporting projects which develop an attractive and safe riverfront surrounded by cultural, historical, recreational, environmental, educational and commercial assets, enriching quality of life for local residents, businesses, and visitors.

JUSTICE AND FAIRNESSUrban students in Flint typically have less access to fresh food and safe outdoor spaces than their rural peers. University Outreach seeks to level the playing field through the Discovering PLACE and Parks in Focus programs.

Funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, the Discovering PLACE program is helping Flint-area schools establish environmental justice, making the community healthier for everyone, regardless of race, income, or heritage. This year, Discovering PLACE supported school gardens and outdoor classrooms in local school districts. These projects connected students with their environments, helped develop stewardship and met a need for fresh food in areas where party stores outnumber grocery stores and farm markets. Students also worked with partners from business and community organizations who shared their concerns.

The program supports the design of curriculum that addresses community needs and engages students in learning, contributing to opportunities for healthy growth and economic advancement among students, schools and the community. Beecher, Westwood Heights and Flint teachers are currently preparing to engage 300 students in academic projects to meet community needs.

Sponsored by the A.G. Bishop Trust, University Outreach also supported the Parks in Focus program, in partnership with the Udall Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint. Since interacting with nature may be uncomfortable for urban students, Parks in Focus equips youth with cameras and binoculars as an introduction to the outdoors. Students discover nature through the art of photography in after-school and summer programs.

Connecting with nature is not only recreational, it motivates our students to care for their environment, which significantly impacts community health and sustainability.

Dr. Don Hammond, a Beecher High School teacher with Discovering PLACE, was one of 20 teachers nationwide

honored with the Chevrolet Green Educator award. Hammond worked with multiple organizations to undertake

environmental projects with his students.

FAST FACT:

Youth explore Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge during a Parks in Focus day trip. Ten students took part in the program, which started with local park visits and culminated in an overnight camping trip to Bay City State Park.

COMMUNITY-BUILDINGUniversity of Michigan-Flint’s Alternative Spring Break program enables students to learn about issues such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, violence, environmental concerns, and complex social and cultural issues. Students listen to and understand community needs through a continued commitment to community service and social change.

This year, students donated their time at Habitat for Humanity, YWCA, Flint’s Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary School, King Karate, and Wellness Aids Services, Inc. We had 64 students volunteer throughout the week, totaling 960 hours. According to the IRS, these hours can be billed at $19.79 per hour - a value of $18,998.40 to the Flint Community.

University Outreach also launched Value Added, a three-day professional skills camp where students engaged in critical thinking, communication skills, design thinking, conflict management, collaborative problem solving, and philanthropic considerations. By the third day, students were using these tools to address problems they identified in their communities. Participants left with a greater understanding of their power to positively impact their community.

Through this pilot program, students demonstrated a commitment to the Three Pillars of the University of Michigan-Flint: Excellence in teaching, learning and scholarship; student centeredness; and engaged citizenship.

Cameron Waites, a recent UM-Flint graduate, received the Governor’s Volunteer of the Year Award for serving 2,000 hours over the past three years in efforts to improve the lives of community members.

One in ten UM-Flint students participate in University Outreach civic engagement programs.

During Alternative Spring Break, students contributed $18,998.40 worth of volunteer service to the Flint community.

FAST FACTS:

ECONOMIC VITALITYStudents with bright ideas use the Innovation Incubator at University Outreach to turn concepts into viable businesses and social ventures. Funded by the C.S. Mott Foundation, incubator programming includes free workshops and conferences on sustainability, civic engagement and using entrepreneurial principles for social change. Students and the community are coached in creating solid structures for their ventures, and enjoy collaborating in a professional setting within the Northbank Center.

The incubator houses seven student-run businesses: an online lifestyle magazine, a nonprofit physical therapy clinic, and Web-hosting, publishing, design, software development and leadership coaching ventures. Another 45 student-run businesses and community members used the incubator’s resources and space to network and build their businesses this year.

Epic Technology Solutions is an example of the social entrepreneurship the incubator encourages.

Epic Technology worked on a program giving low-income people access to more fruits and vegetables with its wireless network design, enabling Bridge Cards and the Double Up Food Bucks cards to be used at Flint Farmers’ Market. Participants receive an extra $20 per day on produce purchases.

With 1,900 participants, it has generated more than $43,425 in business. Epic Technology plans to take the program to markets statewide.

Youth networking organizations such as Genesee Regional Young Professionals and YES Flint are valued partners in the

incubator’s social entrepreneurship programming.

Seven student-run businesses operate in the free office space at the Innovation Incubator. The organizations are

committed to giving back to their communities and changing the world.

Student participants from Value Added, UM-Flint’s Professional Skills Camp, discuss innovation and entrepreneurship at the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio.

FAST FACTS:

MOVING VALUES INTO PRACTICEEssential to the University of Michigan-Flint’s mission is the belief that engaged citizens can exercise a measure of control over the social, environmental, and economic factors in our community.

In 2011, the University achieved a pinnacle affirmation of our commitment to engagement: UM-Flint earned the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.

The Carnegie Foundation, an independent organization devoted to improving teaching and learning, uses available national data to classify American colleges and universities. For example, UM-Flint’s most recent instructional classification is “post-baccalaureate comprehensive,” in the top tier of masters programs.

A new elective classification category, “Community Engagement,” was introduced by the Foundation in 2005. The application process is voluntary and highly competitive. Of the more than 4,000 institutions Carnegie classifies, UM-Flint is now among only 311 colleges and universities to earn the prestigious Community Engagement classification. We are especially proud of this honor, since it validates a monumental effort to infuse our students with a sense of social responsibility, one of our core values.

University Outreach was founded in 1994 to facilitate learning and engagement through thoughtful collaboration and partnerships with campus and community. Guided by the educational mission of the University of Michigan-Flint, the work of University Outreach is driven by values of justice and fairness, community-building, healthy relationships, economic vitality, and a belief that we are here to serve one another. We take pride in our history of serving campus and community, and remain committed to the success of the whole community as we look toward the future.

The University Outreach approach to solving problems is multi-disciplinary, a university-wide undertaking that seeks to partner with citizens, neighborhood associations, businesses, not-for-profits, and government entities. We seek to instill within students and community members alike the belief that social practices intertwined with intellectual insight can bring about positive change.

University Outreach workshop participants map communication networks to better engage the community in social, environmental, and economic issues.

site: www.umflint.edu/outreach stories: www.umflint.edu/engagement

University Outreach 432 N. Saginaw St., Suite 1001

Flint, MI 48502-1950

(810) 424-5486