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Tougaloo College (Tougaloo, MS)
The
Partnership in Excellence
Summary
To enhance Tougaloo College’s efforts in linking with the community,
the Partnerships in Excellence (PIE) Advisory Committee was created as
part of its Engaging Communities and Campuses grant program.
The PIE Advisory Council includes faculty, administrators, and staff from
secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, city and county
government, social service agencies, and local representatives from civic
and neighborhood organizations.
The Practice
The mission of the PIE Advisory Council is to be a “strategic forum
for identifying and addressing community needs.” The Council is
“strategic” in that each of the member agencies has goals
and objectives related to the selected project. As a matter of practice,
the Council connects with a grassroots neighborhood association as the
gatekeeper for community input. In this problem-based learning model,
the PIE Advisory Council collaborates with Tougaloo College administrators
and faculty to determine the best mechanisms for student experiential
learning activities.
Effectiveness
PIE is considered an important communication mechanism that promotes “valuing
the voices and challenges of residents and organizations within a community.”
Through three community workshops/summits held on the Tougaloo campus,
the PIE Advisory Council has proven to be an effective forum for strategic
collaboration among diverse partners. The forums facilitated feedback
from three targeted focus groups: (1) the seven institutions of higher
learning in the Jackson Metropolitan area; (2) community-based organizations
(CBOs); and (3) local neighborhood associations.
A presidential initiative, the Center for Civic Engagement and Social
Responsibility, provides the infrastructure whereby the PIE Advisory Council
will be expanded to include Mississippi Delta community leaders who have
been trained through another Tougaloo community capacity building program,
the Leadership Institute. The two advisory councils will be integrated
into one cohesive body to serve in an advisory capacity to the leadership
of the Center for Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility. As the infrastructure
which centralizes civic engagement and community outreach programs and
activities, the Center oversees: 1) community-service programs, 2) service-learning,
3) internships and externships, 4) the Leadership Institute, and 5) classroom
civic engagement initiatives designed to impact social policy.
Just as Tougaloo College augmented its institutional infrastructure to
support and foster community partnerships, the PIE Advisory Council collaborated
on the opening of a community outreach partnership center at an off-campus
site in January 2003. The need for statistical data related to future
funding opportunities documented the need for a comprehensive community-based
evaluation strategy. Two major sources of local funding for CBOs are represented
on Council. As an outcome of PIE activities, the Hinds County Mental Health
Commission and the United Way of the Capital Area now collaborate on evaluation
and assessment training.
Resources
Addressing the socioeconomic factors impacting families in underserved
communities requires targeted community partnerships. The Partnerships
in Excellence initiative, which was developed in conjunction with the
CIC/CAPHE award, has developed into a relationship with the Hinds County
Mental Health Commission, leading to a community/college partnership focusing
on health issues. The six community capacity-building programs which comprise
the Tougaloo College Leadership Institute utilize the Los Alamos National
Laboratory Leadership Center’s Competency Model, which focuses on
the acquisition of skills (change management, coaching/mentoring, communication,
negotiation and problem solving), behavior (focus and drive, emotional
intelligence, building trust, conceptual thinking, and systems thinking),
and knowledge (marketing; running a business, organization or program;
finance; human capital; and strategic planning).
Future community forums will build upon the third Partnerships in Excellence
community forum, Foundations for Community Partnerships, which
showcased how higher education can facilitate collaboration. A website
and online community resource manual are currently being developed. For
those interested in receiving a copy of the forum’s program, please
contact Gloria Roberts Brown.
Contact Information
Gloria Roberts Brown
Recording Secretary, Partnerships in Excellence Advisory Council
Program Coordinator, HBCU Faculty Development Network
Tougaloo College
500 County Line Road
Tougaloo, MS 39174
Phone: 601-977-7861
network@hbcufdn.org
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