The Fall 2004 Urban Connections Forum
On
Friday, October 22, 2004, several hundred faculty, staff and students
attended UMass Boston’s first Urban Connections Forum. The forum,
sponsored by the Urban Mission Coordinating Committee, brought faculty,
staff, and administrators together to talk about their community projects,
to learn from each other, and to build better partnerships.
In the weeks leading up to the forum, several hundred people had already responded to a survey about their community connections. That data was used to create several digital maps of communities in which UMass Boston has a presence. The maps, along with approximately 75 posters lining the ballroom, showed projects in progress at UMass Boston and created a powerful visual of the volume and quality of work happening on behalf of this institution. When the crowd was asked how many of them had projects in Dorchester alone, over 100 people stood up. Our featured guest speaker was Paul Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation and a good friend of UMass Boston. He talked about the extensive work of our campus and the obligation all colleges and universities have to the communities around them.
Also at the forum we distributed a statement of key working principles developed by the Urban Mission Coordinating Committee after much collaboration and discussion. The statement focuses on such matters as our engagement with urban places, people, and issues; the special role we have as the city’s only public university; our institutional obligation to partner with other urban communities, as well as to serve the under-represented and under-served; and our need to continue the traditional functions of a doctorate-granting university, which include research and teaching.
The
forum was a great success, and it would not have been possible without
the efforts of many at UMass Boston. The Urban Mission Coordinating
Committee would like to extend a big thank you to all of the individuals,
departments, centers, and institutes that contributed to making the
day so memorable!
Look for upcoming events and an on-line survey which will help us to create both a virtual and actual Community Resource Center to help promote collaboration within the University, and to build even stronger community partnerships.