Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (CEC)
Long-Term Space Application for UNO-based
Organizations
This application is intended for UNO-based organizations (e.g., administered through UNO
departments, colleges or divisions) that wish to use the Weitz CEC to house a new or
existing initiative, program, or partnership for a minimum of 6 months.
Completion Guidelines
For UNO Orrga
Instructions
Applications should be submitted by email to unocec@unomaha.edu no later than 5 p.m.
on or before Tuesday, August 28th. Both university and community-based organizations
are required to complete the application to be eligible for application review. Please note
the following:
The Weitz CEC Mission, Vision and Values
As a potential long-term resident of the Weitz CEC, it is important that each applicant
reviews, understands and is able to align with the mission, vision and values for
effective long-term university-community collaboration.
The Weitz CEC mission is to contribute positively and measurably to the
community’s quality of life by creating, supporting, and expanding mutually beneficial
partnerships, engaged scholarship, and academic and student programming that
create tomorrow’s leaders and agents of change.
Weitz CEC Vision: The dynamic programs, initiatives and partnerships fostered and
supported by the Weitz CEC will inspire generations of leaders, groundbreaking solutions,
and synergetic collaborations that will transform our community and campus into worldclass metropolitan partners.
Weitz CEC Values: Each applicant’s ability to align with the core values of the Weitz
CEC’s university/community partnership space will be a key factor in determining how the
center’s space will be allocated and prioritized. Applications seeking partnership space in
the CEC should indicate how they will address these four core values:
1. Collaboration: More than simply sharing space, collaboration implies
organizations will actively seek ways to work with UNO and their Weitz CEC
neighbors to achieve common goals and community benefit. We will place
significant value on organizations that are committed to working in this manner to
identify, address, and solve problems facing our metropolitan area, and that have a
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demonstrated history of working collaboratively in our community, or the clear
potential to do so in the future.
2. A dynamic culture fostering camaraderie and communication: We envision
that the environment of the Weitz CEC will be energized and ever-changing, with
new partnerships, initiatives, and activities frequently arising from co-location and
new connections. Preference will be given to partner organizations that are open to
organizational learning, new interactions and open channels of communication with
the UNO community, their Weitz CEC neighbors, as the broader metropolitan
community.
3. Need and interest in being in the building is authentic and clear, and
opportunity to benefit from being in the Weitz CEC, rather than simply the
space, is obvious: The Weitz CEC should be considered a place where university
and community organizations can work side by side in a collaborative environment,
rather than simply available campus-based office space. Organizations seeking to
be located in the Weitz CEC must demonstrate how they will benefit being part of
the Weitz CEC environment and how they will contribute positively to its success
through:
The Weitz CEC should be considered a place where university and community
organizations can work side by side in a collaborative environment, rather than
simply available campus-based office space. Applicant organizations seeking to be
located in the Weitz CEC must demonstrate how they will benefit being part of the
Weitz CEC environment and how they will contribute positively to its success
through:
 opportunities to work with community organizations, other UNO departments,
students, and faculty in ways that derive reciprocal and community benefit, such
as service learning, applied research, technical assistance, program
development, and other activities;
 collaborating with other community/university Weitz CEC partners in mutually
beneficial ways;
 sharing news and lessons learned from the Weitz CEC experience through UNO
public relations materials, social media, and organizational communications;
4. Be reflective of the diversity in the community from racial, ethnic, economic,
geographic and other perspectives. UNO is seeking a diverse range of
organizations for the Weitz CEC. It encourages nonprofit, government, educational,
private and organizations from both within and outside of the university and
throughout the community to apply for space. Applicant organizations should
clearly identify their target population(s), how they are served, and how services to
this population would be improved through the Weitz CEC.
Additional Values: Organizations seeking placement in the Weitz CEC should also have
a history of effective leadership and operations in terms of a board of advisors or directors
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and/or management team. Applicants should provide evidence of the following in their
application:
• Strong leadership and strategic thinking
• Financially viable organizations
• Transparency
• Flexibility in problem solving to resolve operational differences
Application Due Date and Review Process:
Applications are due by 5 p.m. on August 28th via email in either PDF or Word format.
Applications will be reviewed by members of the Weitz CEC Building Advisory Committee.
Finalists will be interviewed by committee members in September 2015, with decisions for
this round made by late September, 2015. Future applications for long-term space will be
accepted on a rolling application basis with future deadlines to be announced.
The subcommittee will have both community and campus representation. Subcommittee
recommendations will be reported to the Weitz CEC Building Advisory Committee and
submitted to the Sr. Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs (or his designee) for
final approval.
Submission:
Please email the completed application (Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4) in either Word or PDF form
to unocec@unomaha.edu by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 28th, 2015. Please DO NOT mail
or hand-deliver applications. Please direct questions to Sara Woods or Heike Langdon at
the contact addresses below.
Eligible Applicants:
Please note that due to space availability, the Weitz CEC will be limiting this round
of applications to organizations seeking only one or two spaces in the building.
Eligible UNO applicants can include and are not necessarily limited to:
 new or existing university programs
 collaborative initiatives involving more than one UNO program
 collaborative programs involving UNO programs and one or more community
partners (with the UNO entity having a regular presence in the Weitz CEC,
otherwise the application will be treated as a community application)
 student organizations
 individual/teams of faculty and/or staff
Are there any type of organizations not well suited for Weitz CEC use?
Because of the open nature of Weitz CEC office space, the Weitz CEC is not generally
suited for organizations that intend to provide direct or confidential services to clients, e.g.,
advising, counseling, treatment, one-to-one training, etc. Also, because of the extensive
internal and public demand for Weitz CEC’s meeting and workshop spaces, organizations
that offer regular and frequent training or classes as part of their mission may not find the
Weitz CEC a suitable home, as the ability to schedule multiple spaces on a daily or weekly
basis is not possible.
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Finally, organizations looking at the Weitz CEC purely as office and meeting space, and
not as a rich opportunity for expanded campus and community collaboration, are not a
good fit. Successful applicants and residents of the Weitz CEC are those that share the
Weitz CEC’s unique vision and are already committed to the potential it offers their
organization.
Additional Information and Follow-up:
Memoranda of Understanding and/or contracts will be developed in consultation with the
Weitz CEC program administrator and UNO administration. Organizations selected for the
Weitz CEC will meet with Weitz CEC building staff to finalize their space, furniture, office
layout, and resource needs.
Please Note: As of August 2015, there are no remaining parking stalls in the Weitz
CEC garage space. UNO will no longer be able to guarantee parking space for new
Weitz CEC affiliates in the Weitz CEC garage as part of the rental agreements.
However, ample parking will be available for Weitz CEC affiliates in UNO’s east and
west parking structures.
For additional information, contact:
Sara Woods, Assistant to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Community Engagement
University of Nebraska at Omaha
6001 Dodge Street, Weitz CEC 115
Omaha, NE 68182
(402)554-3914
swoods@unomaha.edu
Heike Langdon
Manager of Possibilities
University of Nebraska at Omaha
6001 Dodge Street, Weitz CEC 115
Omaha, NE 68182
halangdon@unomaha.edu
(402) 554-2565
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