CUMU Conference 2019

Purdue University Fort Wayne is recently designated as a metropolitan university and we are endeavoring to increase and reward community engagement. In particular we value such activities that involve students as well as faculty and community partners, and that might lead to the development of lasting relationships. Often such enterprises need some help getting going, and so we in the College of Arts and Sciences established the START program to seed such collaborations. The START program helps faculty partner with local institutions, agencies, and other community groups to develop initiatives that provide significant hands-on learning opportunities for our students, offer measurable benefits to the residents of the Fort Wayne metropolitan region. The START program funds opportunities that support research, development, and community-building projects in which our faculty and students work directly with community members, civic leaders, and regional institutions to accelerate Fort Wayne’s growth and enterprise. Every project will be designed to help improve the quality of life for our communities, enhance the learning opportunities and experiences for students, and contribute positively to the visibility and prominence of one of American’s great and growing cities. After introducing the structure and intent of the START program, I will take a deeper look into examples of selected START projects, describing the benefits to the involved faculty, students and community collaborators, highlighting successes and challenges, giving attendees ideas about how they might initiate similar endeavors. I will also discuss our successes at getting the program to be more self-supporting.