| "In partnership with
business, government and other sectors of education, this
university must continue to seek out ways to help every region
of North Carolina foster and stimulate economic development"
- UNC President Erskine Bowles
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
has established an Institute for Community and Economic Engagement,
a virtual organization that will coordinate UNCG’s activities
associated with community and economic development and help
implement new ones.
The ICEE shares the same five goals as those of the economic
development Strategic initiatives, which are:
Deliver learning that meets the needs of the
21st Century. Enhance the capacity of public institutions
to implement successful and sustainable economic development
policies Enhance opportunities for research and innovation.
Provide support to build competitive businesses. Grow high-quality,
healthy and attractive communities.
Each campus group that affiliates with the
Institute will be known as a partner. The number of partners
would not be limited but each partner would be expected to
contribute to the overall productivity of the Institute. When
operational, the ICEE will provide:
A visible point of contact for the external community for
campus activities related to community and economic engagement.
A structure
where each partner affiliated with it could function within
its own division, unit or department with maximum efficiency;
receive recognition as being part of their home domain; and
simultaneously contribute to and receive recognition for being
part of the campus-wide initiative.
A structure
where the campus goals around community and economic engagement
will be recognized and shared effectively among all partners.
A matrix
to which new activities in the area of community and economic
engagement could easily become affiliated.
A home
for individual faculty to interact around their work in the
area of community and economic engagement through the Fellows
Program.
An institute
advisory board will be formed, with on- and off-campus members.
It will serve as a sounding board for educational programs
and external activities, assist in the development of support
for the goals and strategic initiatives of the Institute,
and provide a mechanism for informing the community about
the Institute’s capabilities.
While there are no well-defined metrics
to measure community and economic engagement, it is recognized
that as universities across the country become more heavily
involved in these types of activities. Productivity will be
measured by the number and quality of community connections,
the amount of external funding procured to support community
and economic engagement, the number of campus discussions
around these topics, number of partners in the Institute,
activities of the partners, and receiving Carnegie Foundation’s
“community engagement” designation.
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