Community Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is actively committed to engagement across curriculum, across campus, and across neighborhoods. The University of Texas at Austin engages the community in a numbers of ways including courses, workshops, service-learning opportunities. UT also actively collaborates with key institutions in the community, including regional school districts, city, county, and state government, various chambers of commerce, the faith community, and the non-profit community (particularly in health and human services).
At the heart of UT’s initiatives to interact, engage, and partner with its surrounding community is the newly created Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE). Headed by Vice-President Gregory Vincent, the DDCE was created to coordinate and take the lead in promoting the Unversity’s efforts in diversity and engagement. The DDCE’s portfolio includes the Office of Community and School Relations, Neighborhood Longhorns, University Outreach, Pre-college youth Development. The DDCE is also partnering with UT’s School of Social Work to promote the work of the Diversity Institute, an initiative dedicated to building inclusive communities (www.utexas.edu/research/cswr/diversity).
Of particular importance to the DDCE’s efforts is a newly proposed Center for Community-University Partnerships (CUP). As part of a partnership with UT’s Graduate School, the CUP will provide direct programming such as courses, workshops, and community events. The CUP will undertake research to document and create innovative modes of community engagement between UT and it’s surrounding community. The CUP will also serve as a hub for community action, by forming and maintaining an active network of institutions and individuals, on and off campus, who work directly on community issues. Key members of this network on campus will include UT’s primary community engagement initiatives:
The Volunteer and Service Learning Center, which coordinates promotes volunteerism and service learning opportunities for students across campus, and is the key liaison on campus for Texas Compact.
Professional Development and Community Engagement program in the Graduate School, which provides community engagement opportunities through innovative courses and workshops on topics such as Consulting, Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Design, Ethics, and Multicultural Collaboration, as well as internships and workshops.
RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, devoted to building knowledge about nonprofits, philanthropic activities, and volunteerism as well preparing individuals to make lasting and effective contributions to the community. The Center oversees a graduate portfolio program in Philanthropy and Community Service and regularly provides funding to encourage faculty across campus to incorporate philanthropy and community service into their disciplines by creating new courses. The Center has also just launched a new Social Entrepreneurship competition that will pay the winner $50K to start a new entrepreneurial venture that serves the community.
The Humanities Institute, which builds civic and intellectual communities within, across, and beyond the university’s walls by bringing people together to explore issues and ideas that matter; and specialized centers across culture, ethnic, and gender divides which draw members of the community from both within and outside the university on topics. Among the Humanities Institute’s initiatives are the Community Sabbatical Project (in collaboration with the Graduate School), which links leaders from community agencies to UT faculty so that the community leader can do research that directly benefits the agency’s work.
In addition to the Offices, Programs, and institutes listed above, UT has a rich range of projects and research conducted by individual faculty and students across campus that directly benefits the community. A good sampling of these transformational projects are available online.
The programs, events, and projects listed above represent a small sampling of the energies directed towards holistic education and community partnership at the University of Texas. The nature of engagement is reflected in the dynamic projects, programs, and volunteer opportunities available to members of our community.
