Chatham University
EN-9: Community Partnerships

Chatham University strongly believes in community partnerships. Chatham University outreach centers, institutes, and programs make significant contributions in the areas of environmental science and sustainability, women's leadership, and global understanding. Our formal partnerships include Higher Education Climate Consortium, American Association of University Women, and Association of Women's Business Centers (AWBC), among others. http://www.chatham.edu/cwe/resources/index.cfm http://pittsburghclimate.org/whatCanWeDo/higherEducation.htm Addendum: Chatham has been a major supporting partner in Higher Education Climate Consortium (HECC) since its founding in 2008. In addition to chairing the section (4 times since 2008), we provide joint funding support for an Student Conservation Association Green Cities Fellow, meet monthly as part of both the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative main group and also on the technical working group, providing expertise in greenhouse gas auditing. Chatham has been a Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) partner since 2007, and we have a no-end-date memo of understanding that lays out our partnership, including space, and shared programming. We also maintain very long-term formal agreements with the American Association of University Women and the Association of Women's Business Centers. More information on these agreements can be found on the association websites. The John's Folly Learning Institute on St. John, USVI, is a newer initiative, started by Dr. Crystal Fortwangler, and supported both financially and with expertise from fellows from the Falk Summer Sustainability Fellowship program. In Summer 2014, Falk Fellow, Zygmunt Osecki, MSUS, was responsible for initiating and completing the repair of the village cistern. This work is done in consultation with the village council.

One of Chatham University's major collaborative partners is the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). Chatham provides office space for PASA's Western Regional Office at our Eden Hall campus, which allows for a variety of collaborative experiences for Chatham University students and PASA members. Chatham and PASA co-host potlucks and workshops at Eden Hall campus, which are open to all PASA members and Chatham's Falk School of Sustainability students, staff, and faculty.

Chatham University's Food Studies program has built a longstanding, transformative partnership with the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council (PFPC) since the creation of the Masters program in 2010 (the PFPC was created in 2009). The PFPC is a collaborative advisory organization composed of a variety of stakeholder groups that work together with City of Pittsburgh officials to develop stronger local food and urban agriculture policies. Faculty and student representatives from Chatham's Falk School of Sustainability attend the PFPC's monthly meetings to share and brainstorm ideas. Currently, the PFPC has been working directly with the City of Pittsburgh to pass comprehensive Urban Agriculture Zoning legislation to expand urban agriculture for Pittsburgh residents by providing legal protections for urban growers and farmers, creating regulations for farm animals and bees, and expanding access for local production on vacant lots. (The Pittsburgh Urban Agriculture Zoning bill was passed on July 7, 2015!, 8-0, with no abstentions). In addition to Chatham University hosting PFPC outreach and community events on campus, the PFPC was a sponsor of the Association for the Study of Food and Society/Agriculture, Food, and Human Values annual meeting and conference held at Chatham University in June 2015. http://www.pittsburghfoodpolicy.org/home/2323

We have a partnership with the community-based John's Folly Learning Institute in St. John, US Virgin Islands, where our students share their sustainability knowledge and provide technical support. Projects have included the hand-done repair of a large community cistern in the village.