A Model of Community Engagement and Service -learning
in Eastern North Carolina
(Towards a New Type of University-Community Collaboration)
Ricardo B. Contreras, PhD
Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University
Service-learning and Community Engagement Symposium
Western Carolina University
June 10, 2010
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Introduction
The program
Historical background
Phase I: Restricted partnership
Phase II: Open coalition
Challenges
Conclusions
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To present an evolving program of universitycommunity engagement on Latino issues.
To identify some of the challenges of the
program.
To apply some of the lessons learned in the
implementation of this program, to a general
model of university-community engagement.
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The Nuevo South Action Research
Collaborative (NSARC), formerly Nuevo
South Community Research Initiative
(NSCRI).
Effort to engage the university faculty, staff,
and students with the Latino community of
eastern North Carolina (ENC) through applied
research and action.
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Phase I. Restricted partnership. Fall 2008Early 2010
Phase II. Open coalition. April 2010-Present
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Informal partnership between faculty from the ECU
Department of Anthropology and a single grassroots
community organization.
Synergy:
 Leader of community organization was looking for a new
way of partnering with the university
 Anthropology faculty wanted to develop sustainable
partnerships with community organizations. Two main
motivations:
▪ Applied and action research
▪ Community connections for migration research
Intense rapport building process
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Faculty and organization leader jointly identified
community needs (no formal needs assessment study)
Faculty wrote proposals for the organization
Faculty assisted in program implementation
The community organization was the fiscal agent
Emphasis on community research, hence the name
“Nuevo South Community Research Initiative”
No formal binding agreement
Some volunteering and service-learning activities
associated with projects
Diabetes awareness workshops
Promoting healthy lifestyles through
community health advisors
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Involvement of faculty from different academic
units
Volunteering and service-learning (Applied
Anthropology and Social Work Practicum)
Enhancing Latino youth civic engagement
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Working relations were developed with faculty
from different academic units
 School of Social Work
 College of Nursing
 Department of Health Education and Promotion
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Relationships were established with members of
the Latino community (beyond the partner
organization) and service providers
Students became involved in projects through
volunteer and service-learning activities
Website was created
(www.ecu.edu/anth/nuevosouth)
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Re-launch the collaborative as a more inclusive coalition based on
the realization that the restricted partnership model was not
sustainable.
New collaborative has to:
 Be as inclusive as possible at the university and community level
 Represent the social and cultural diversity of the Latino
community
 Involve community organizations, service providers, and nonorganized residents
Meeting was called:
 50 attendees
 Grassroots community organizations, community residents,
providers, faculty from different academic units, students and
staff
 Goal: think on how to collaborate to improve the quality of life of
the Latino community of ENC
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Core activities (multi-emphasis):
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Program implementation or solutions
Research
Volunteer and service-learning
Advocacy
Guiding principles
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Accountability
Participation
Knowledge equivalence
Reciprocity
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Focus Areas (Holistic):
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Community and capacity building
Culture
Education
Health and human services
Migration and settlement
Governance and Leadership (Participatory):
 Director
 Advisory board
 Co-c00rdinators for each focus area
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Volunteer and service-learning (no funding
required)
 Computer literacy with community organizations
 English as a second language
 Mentoring program for incoming Latino students
(faculty and student volunteers)
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Requires funding
 Lay health advisors program
 Strengthening the network of Latino community
organizations (some activities require funding and
some do not)
 Transnational family and community support
program
 Cultural competency training for service providers
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The restricted partnership model is fragile:
 Susceptible to fluctuations in the local political climate
 Susceptible to personal misunderstandings and conflicts
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In general, there is a potential cultural disconnection
between university and community organizations:
 University: culture of grants, projects, and accountability
 Community organizations: culture of voluntarism and processes
(vs. projects)
 Wrong assumption: community organizations share the
institutional culture of grants and projects
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It is necessary to determine whether this disconnection
exists, and if it does, it needs to be made explicit.
Strategies need to be developed to overcome it.
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A sustainable partnership needs to rest on
transparent and open communication among
members. Problems need to be discussed
openly and immediately.
Include in the collaborative not only leaders
of community organizations, but also
residents who do not play leadership roles in
organizations.
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Volunteering and service-learning activities
can play a key role in a university-community
collaborative
 Satisfy community needs with little or no
monetary investment
 University students can become role models to
community youth
 Educating a new generation of communityconscious professionals
Bridging the cultural divide between the university
and the community
 Changing the accepted practices within each of
these two players (necessary in order to bridge the
divide)
 Make university researchers and organizations
accountable to the people with whom they work in
the community
 Develop a transparent system of communication
among participants
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