Printer FriendlyThe Center is an interdisciplinary program of community-focused activities and research that emphasize leadership development, family enrichment, capacity building and empowerment in areas such as environmental quality, community-based economic development and the connection between work and family life. The Center places particular emphasis on expanding the capacity of organizations and community groups to address cultural diversity and changing family roles. All activities of the Center are based on a multicultural approach to human problems. In all of its efforts, the Center for Family, Work and Community strives to:
- Demonstrate innovative ways that faculty can carry out collaborative projects with the community
- Demonstrate ways that social science research can contribute to regional economic development
- Build application capacity among faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students throughout the University
Short-Term Organizational Objectives and Long-Term Organizational Objectives
The short- and long-term objectives of the Center for Family, Work and Community focus on capacity building, family enrichment, leadership development and community empowerment. In the short-term, the Center works to expand the capacity of community groups, organizations and partnerships to address cultural diversity and changing family, community and school leadership roles. Our research focuses on educational inclusion, community problem solving, working with diverse groups, immigrant experiences and strengthening partnerships. All of the initiatives of the Center draw on the strengths of the diverse leaders in the region, develop and test innovative approaches to problem solving and strengthen higher education’s commitment to working in collaboration with partners.
Our long-term organizational goals are to:
- Ensure that university research contributes to regional problem solving and leads directly to improved policy making, programs and services.
- Ensure that underserved groups have access to technical resources (program evaluation, program design, strategic planning) that enable them to strengthen their efforts and impact the region.
- Design and disseminate new interdisciplinary approaches to address regional needs, particularly in the face of changing demographics.
- Devise and test new practices by which faculty, staff and students from across many different institutions of higher education in New England can be prepared to carry out successful collaborative projects with communities and schools.
- Assist in the building of a regional infrastructure for university engagement in regional problem solving.