UMB Community Engagement in West Baltimore When is the Wedding?

Alisha Ellis, Jessica Galang, Emily Smith Goering, Dorothy Kenny,

Maurice Mayo, Emily Meyer, & Jazmyn Thompson

Our Process ● Discuss our diverse perspectives about the meaning of

the fellowship and paper ● Define community engagement at UMB ● Examine barriers to university-community

engagement ● Assess current community needs ● Generate ideas to establish an urban extension center

When is the Wedding? “Engagement” is used to get points. University will engage with data, will engage with statistics, but will not engage with the people... even if they get to the point of engagement, there is no wedding. To get to the point of the wedding, it takes both parties to have a shared recognition of what the problem is. -Dr. Kim Richards, People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISB)

Our Approach ● What is the history of UMB and West

Baltimore? ● What are the current opportunities and

challenges? ● What are we doing? ● What are others doing? ● Our recommendations

What is the History of UMB and West Baltimore?

Defining West Baltimore

Baltimore City District Map

History of UMB in West Baltimore UMB has worked with Stakeholders within the community in

various ways: ● Creating a presence in West Baltimore ● Building partnerships ● Implementing Evidence-Based Practices (EBPS) within the

community ● Engaging community in research and advocacy to support

well-being of West Baltimore

What are Current Opportunities &

Challenges?

Institutional Power & Diversity

Institutional Power & Diversity The ability or

authority of an institution to: o Allocate

resources o Decide what is

best for the community

o Exercise control

● Prejudice, Racism ● Privilege ● Language ● Accountability ● Access

Health Disparities The burden of the stress of racism, income, and

residence in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty takes a significant toll on the health of individuals

Social Determinants of Health Social determinants of health are the conditions in which

people: ● Are born ● Grow ● Live ● Work ● Age

And include things such as: ● Income ● Education ● Employment ● Food insecurity ● Stress

Community Perspectives

Views of students are highly positive…...

Listening to community concerns...

What are We Doing?

Current UMB Engagement Efforts

● Course-Based Initiatives o Internships, Practicums, Service Learning,

Externships, Clinical Placements ● Student-Led Initiatives

o Student Organizations within schools o Campus-wide Organizations

● Hybrid Initiatives

Organizing Engagement

President’s Office

Office of Community Engagement (OCE)

Office of Research and Development

Center for Community Based Engagement and Learning (CBEL)

Interprofessional Student Learning & Service Initiatives (ISLSI)

Student Initiatives

Student Service

UMB

Curriculum- Based

Initiatives

Hybrid Initiatives

Law

Pharmacy

Medicine

Nursing

Dental

Social Work

Graduate School

Administration

Mapping and Tracking Engagement

● CBEL and Social Work Community Outreach Service (SWCOS): o Mapping Course-Based Initiatives in Baltimore

● Community Action Network: o In development through a CBEL grant-funded

project o Developing an online source that connects

university resources and students with community needs and projects

What are Others Doing?

Online Space Physical Space

Current Models for Organizing

Online Space - CoMesh

Physical Space - Dornsife Center ● Operates as a

community center ● School runs

programs ● Community

partners create programs

● Food

Resources for Sustainability To ensure that programs and initiatives have staying power, they

can not be based solely on: ● Course/research goals ● Academic calendar implementation ● Participation by individual community leaders or student groups ● Sponsorship by university professors

Programs/Initiatives must also possess a spirit of community/university social entrepreneurship to gain financial support from private and corporate sponsors

Areas for Development o Visibility of community engagement efforts o Communication between UMB schools and the

community o Sustainability of student involvement in the

community

Remove Barriers to Community Engagement

Short-term goal: o Institutional power analysis workshop for

students, faculty, & staff receiving a CBEL grant Long-term goal:

o Mandatory power analysis & privilege workshop for all students, faculty, & staff across UMB schools

Short-term goals: ● Identify funding from corporate foundations ● Identify funding from private foundations ● Take ownership of the CAN database system

Sustainability & Expansion

Long-term goals: o Create an Urban Extension Center modeled after

Drexel’s Dornsife Center o Fund programming that is modeled off of Just

Advice o Hire a Community Engagement Project Manager

and a Communications Manager

Sustainability & Expansion

Short-term goal: o Hire a student to manage mapping system,

advertise system to UMB community, encourage faculty to keep system up-to-date and relevant.

Long-term goal: o Create a more structured online space at UMB

within 5 years.

Organization & Communication

Short-term goal: o Create a community engagement advisory

structure or “leadership table” Long-term goal:

o UMB and its schools will have concrete lines of communication with West Baltimore community stakeholders within 5 years.

Organization, Communication, & Visibility

Our Vows When community engagement is done properly it is

a transformative experience that marries academic and residential constituents to publicly exchange vows:

● I vow to be a faithful partner ● I vow to seek your trust and honor you ● I vow to support your individual goal and our mutual goals ● I vow to continue to court and praise you in sickness and in good health ● I vow to accept you as you are with all your faults and strengths and ask

you to accept me with my faults and strengths ● I vow to cherish this partnership during good and bad times

This is my solemn commitment to support community engagement.

Acknowledgements ● President Jay A. Perman, MD & the President’s Office ● CBEL, ISLSI, & CAN ● Dr. Jane Lipscomb & Dr. Megan Meyers ● Courtney J. Jones, Clancy Clawson, Reina Arai Pomeroy, & Pam Miller ● Dr. David Hoffman ● Dr. Kim Richards ● Jane Bucchieri, Scott Kashnow, & Paul Brophy ● Dr. Barbara Israel ● Ms. Sherita Smith ● Dr. Mark Warren ● Lisa Rawlings ● Christina Lauderdale ● Michael Scott ● Todd Vanidestine ● Amy Cohen-Callow, Polly Reinicker, Elizabeth Weber, & Megan Thomas