CUMU Conference 2019

The Community Experiences and Deep Dive Workshops are offered at no additional cost to conference attendees. You must be registered for the CUMU 2019 Conference before registering for a Community Experience or Deep Dive Workshop. Seating is limited.

You can complete registration for this program event here.

Netter Center for Community Partnerships and the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Hosted by University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania’s evolving, unified approach as an anchor institution involves the engagement of the full range of intellectual and institutional resources of the University in democratic, sustained partnership with its local community of West Philadelphia.

Since the mid-1980s, Penn, through its Netter Center for Community Partnerships, has developed Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) courses involving collaborative real-world problem-solving that is rooted in and connected to research, teaching, learning, practice, and service.

Penn and the Netter Center have enjoyed a particularly robust partnership with The Paul Robeson House and West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (WPCA). A cornerstone of the collaboration is the relationships built between Penn students, faculty, and West Philadelphia community members through ABCS courses. In addition, in collaboration with the Netter Center’s University-Assisted Community Schools programming, Paul Robeson House and WPCA have partnered with Sayre, West Philadelphia High School, and Paul Robeson High School for Human Services, including hosting high school interns.

The site of the CUMU community tour, the Paul Robeson House and Museum, honors the legacy of Paul Leroy Robeson (1898–1976), an actor, orator, athlete, lawyer, singer, author, scholar, activist and linguist. The Robeson House is owned and operated by the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. It has been named a historic landmark by the Pennsylvania Historical and Commission and is listed on the National Register for Historic Places.

The tour will include hearing from the executive director of the Paul Robeson House/WPCA, Vernoca L. Michael, who is also a member of the Netter Center’s Community Advisory Board; members of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; Penn faculty who teach ABCS courses; and staff of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships. The tour will also include a musical performance by the Robeson High School choir.