Town-Gown Issues to be
Addressed
SUNNYVALE UNIVERSITY
Royce Maier
Dominique Starr
Rashica Ward
Ryan Young
Wright State University Student Affairs and Higher
Education Graduate Students
StudentAffairs.com 2013 Case Study Competition
WELCOME,
Sunnyvale University, Board of Trustees and
the New England community! Our objective today is to begin
the start of our new relationship!
Today’s Agenda:
▫ Analyze examples of best practices
▫ Step-by-Step of the Committee’s Proposed
Strategic Plan Initiatives
▫ Potential funding and implementation strategies
Examples of Best Practices
•
Duke University, Durham NC:
▫ Long history of town/gown relation stressors. In 1996, the university created The Office of Durham and
Regional Affairs (DARA) directly under the Vice President for Durham and Regional Affairs.
▫ Dedicated to improving town/gown relations through collaboration with the local public school system to
support education programs, neighborhood partnership involving investment of millions into community
resources, and promoting student and employee volunteerism in the community.
•
Kingston University, Ontario CA:
▫ Town Gown Association of Ontario (TGAO) Symposium allowing for collaboration between representatives
from across the community.
▫ Live Twitter feed.
▫ Facilitate new ideas for community partnerships, initiatives and to publicize student led initiatives.
•
University of Central Florida, Orlando FL:
▫ Center for Community Partnerships (CCP)
▫ Development of innovative “governance paradigm” to generate a more positive relationship between the
university and its host community.
▫ Identification of critical success factors in university-community partnerships: funding, communication,
synergy, measurable outcomes, visibility and dissemination of knowledge, technology, organizational
compatibility and simplicity.
Strategic Plan Initiative
Two-front strategy to improve relationship:
1.
Address student behavior in community by renewal of campus
environment.
2.
Collaborate for the mutual wellbeing of the university and its
surrounding community.
Identifying
Space
Establishing
Partnerships
Implement
= Great Town/Gown Relationship
Process
Identifying
Space
Establishing
Partnerships
Implement
= Great Town/Gown Relationship
Campus Ecology
• Student behavior:
▫ Mental, emotional, physical and behavioral is directly related to
environments.
• Campus environment:
▫ Facilities, geographical layout, reinforcement and rewards for healthy
behavior are just a few ways campus environment directly influences
student health.
• Implication:
▫ Healthy, positive student behavior is directly beneficial to community relations.
National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. (2004). Leadership for a Healthy Campus: An Ecological Approach.
Identifying Space
“Colleges and universities should never underestimate
the power of special, transformational, and even sacred
spaces on their campuses. Such spaces help create
lasting relationships between students and institutions,
but too often colleges overlook the influential role that
campus landscape can play”
-Earl Broussard
Broussard, E (2009, May 1) The power of place on campus, The Chronicle Review, pp. B12-B13
Identifying Space
• Short-Term Goals
▫ Members of Student Activities and Residence Housing will collaborate to plan a few
campus events for students to attend on the weekends based on events that were
successful in the past
▫ We will utilize free space we have in the student union and allow student government
and other organizations to use this space to plan activities for the student body
• Long Term Goal
▫ Update the student union and recreation center to include a track, basketball courts,
new exercise equipment, and more conference rooms.
▫ Extend hours of student union on Fridays and Saturdays
▫ Allow student organizations to utilize available rooms in the student union for student
activities
▫ Allow the community to utilize the union for community events
▫ Plan more campus activities for students
**The student body will be notified of the location of this new space, events, and
also the progress of the renovations to the student union via a newly created page
on the University Website and email.
Process
Identifying
Space
Establishing
Partnerships
Implement
= Great Town/Gown Relationship
Establishing Partnerships
• Why are innovative university-community
partnerships important?
“No single actor, public or private, has the all-encompassing
knowledge, overview, information or resources to solve
complex and diversified problems.”
The Copenhagen Center
• Establishing university-community partnerships between
Sunnyvale University and the New England community can
offer many benefits for all of us here today and in the future.
Martin, L., Smith, H., & Phillips, W. (N.A.). Bridging town & gown through innovative university-community partnerships. The Innovation
Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Vol. 10(2), article 20.
Establishing Partnerships
Benefits for Sunnyvale University:
▫ Increases great rapport and community relations within the town they serve and
amongst the townspeople.
▫ Helps the university with enrollment recruitment efforts effectively working with the
area high schools.
▫ Able to build respect and trust with the community.
▫ Enhances the university’s career development program whereby partnerships with
local businesses to establish internship, job shadow, and volunteer programs.
▫ Keeps the students more informed so they have an appreciation for the town for
which they reside.
Establishing Partnerships
Benefits for The Community:
▫ Positively impacts the town’s economy because the university graduates wellrounded, respectful, educated citizens back into the town to work, innovate, and
lead.
▫ Positively impacts the town’s demographics due to the university’s diverse makeup of students that migrate into the community.
▫ Brings new technology, developments, and research into the town.
▫ Provides the town with cheap and/or no cost labor with students in internship,
work-study, and volunteer programs.
▫ Keeps the townspeople more informed of the goals, accomplishments, needs and
desires of the institution and also services the institution may provide to the
community to use.
Proposed ways to establish university-community partnerships:
 Annual Town and Gown Symposium
Will aim to increase the understanding of town/gown relations and to bring shared understanding of
the challenges and opportunities. Will also help to facilitate new ideas, and discuss best practices.
(City of Kingston, 2012)
▫
Can be hosted by both the university and New England town annually.
▫
▫
Can be live-streamed on Twitter allowing attendees to comment and give reviews on the event.
To ensure entire community and university participation will announce via social networking avenues such as LinkedIn, Facebook,
Twitter, University website, University email as well as local newspaper.
 Student Volunteerism/Career Development Initiative
Involves individual and voluntary initiatives where students engage in community activities, also opportunities
for career development.
▫
▫
▫
Call to Student Government to create student driven community engagement group. SG Advisor urges group to create Facebook page
to maintain awareness of activities throughout student population.
Will streamline career development, volunteer, and community activity opportunities via Career Services website for all students and
student organizations to view.
Career Services will create a LinkedIn profile for professional networking purposes as well as encourage and assist each student utilizing
their services to also.
 Applied Research
Involves the university, faculty and students in data collection, analysis, and reporting on
community issues. Will aid the town in its development, technology and research initiatives.
▫
Faculty and their respective graduate research students will work with the mayor and his staff on identifying research needs within the
community.
Martin, L., Smith, H., & Phillips, W. (N.A.). Bridging town & gown through innovative university-community partnerships. The Innovation
Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Vol. 10(2), article 20.
Process
Identifying
Space
Establishing
Partnerships
Implement
= Great Town/Gown Relationship
Funding & Implementation: Community
Partnerships
• Hire Director of Development and Community Engagement for the Division of
Student Affairs. Role of this director will be…
▫
▫
▫
▫
Seek and acquire grants and scholarship funding available for individuals or groups
developing and/or participating in activities benefiting the local community.
Cultivate relationships with local alumni business owners while working to create volunteer
opportunities to benefit both student and community.
Develop relationships with local businesses and citizens to increase work opportunities for
students in the communities.
Collaborate with career services and service learning coordinator to increase Internship and
service learning opportunities with local businesses
• Development of Service Learning programs
▫
▫
▫
Hire qualified service learning coordinator.
Make participation in a service learning course a general education requirement as well as
implement a 50 dollar surcharge per student per course. This plan of action has been utilized
by other universities such as Miami University- Oxford Ohio in order to increase and fund
service learning efforts.
The required service learning course as well as the surcharge will aid in increasing service
learning activity as well as provide funding for both aforementioned positions.
Funding & Implementation: Development of
Campus Places
• Over Arching Goal:
▫
▫
▫
Renovate Student Union using 24 million in Brick and mortar funds.
We will be basing this renovation of the project completed by Wright State University to
upgrade their student union.
In order to allow for development of more student and community centric party/all purpose
rooms on campus we are budgeting roughly 12 million more funds.
• Short term Objectives:
▫
▫
Collaborate with University Advancement to create a plan aiming to bring in 12 in funding for
the student union renovation during current or next campaign.
Submit proposal to the Presidents Cabinet seeking emergency funding to be used for the
renovation of one on campus space to be used for immediate student use.
• Long Term Goals:
▫
▫
▫
▫
Submit Proposals to New England Board of Higher Education requesting state funding for
capital projects.
Requests for 4 million in funding per year over the next three years to complete renovation.
Collaborate with advancement in seeking out grant funding for Capital projects.
As funding increases, portions of renovation to be completed as funding allows.
References
•
•
Ashton, Cindie. (2012). Kingston's town/gown symposium largest ever. City of Kingston, Ontario, Canada Press
Release. Retrieved from http://www.cityofkingston.ca/cityhall/press/release.asp?id=3472&mode=show
on 2/12/2013.
Broussard, E (2009, May 1) The power of place on campus, The Chronicle Review, pp. B12-B13
•
Duke University. (n.d.). Duke University Community Engagement. Office of Durham & Regional Affairs:
https://community.duke.edu/index.php on 2/17/2013.
•
Martin, L., Smith, H., & Phillips, W. (N.A.). Bridging town & gown through innovative university-community
partnerships. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector. Innovation Journal, Vol. 10(2), article 20.
Retrieved from http://www.innovation.cc/volumes-issues/martin-u-partner4final.pdf on 2/12/2013.
•
Moyen, E. (2008, June 8). Town-Gown Relationship on Trail. InsideHigherEd.com:
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2006/06/08/moyen on 2/17/13.
•
National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. (2004). Leadership for a Healthy Campus: An
Ecological Approach. Retrieved from NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education:
www.naspa.org/membership/mem/pubs/ebooks/HealthyCampus.pdf on 2/17/2013.
•
http://www.heapy.com/portfolio/higher-education/5-Portfolio/portfolio/83-wright-state-university-student-unionrenovation.html