UMass Lowell’s century-old commitment to working with a variety of community groups to advance research, teaching and outreach goals is shared by universities and community groups around the globe.

On April 26 and 27, experts from nearly 40 universities from around the world – including presenters from India, South Africa and Mexico – will visit the campus to share strategies and programs to increase the effectiveness of university-community collaborations.

Committee on Industrial Theory and Assessment (CITA) co-chairs, Professors Linda Silka and Bob Forrant, have organized presentations around six critical partnership categories, with multiple presentations in each grouping. Samples of the list of presentations follow.

• International:  An Indira Gandhi National Open University professor will discuss strategies to promote sustainable international partnerships;
• Student-focused:  A Gordon College professor will describe student academic and co-curricular volunteer work which has led to a successful partnership and university-community development;
• Economic Development:  A University of Maine professor will showcase a program targeting downtown Bangor’s poorest neighborhoods, raising intriguing questions about ownership, access and rights of information dissemination;
• Environmental/Health:  A doctoral candidate from Syracuse University will identify important frameworks required for community/environmental health partnerships;
• Ethics, power sharing and tenure:  A Loyola University professor speaks to the ways a community-engaged research agenda can provide a rewarding path to tenure; and,
• School/university:  An Appalachian State University professor will outline coordination and outreach by bringing together university faculty with public school social studies teachers.