Duquesne University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Duquesne University partners with Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh (UP), a non-profit organization of residents, institutions, business owners, and other concerned stakeholders to improve community quality of life — and to collaboratively create a vision and pathway for Uptown’s much-needed revitalization.

UP works to ensure the development of a clean, safe, green, and equitable neighborhood; rebuilds a mixed-income population by reclaiming vacant, blighted properties and encouraging new residential development; attracts new neighborhood retail and commercial business, while supporting existing business owners; fosters green, quality design in all development projects; and creates a healthy environment where the arts flourish and are integrated into the urban landscape.

Today Uptown Partners is working with the City of Pittsburgh, our community and institutions, Port Authority of Allegheny County, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Green Building Alliance, Oakland Planning & Development Corp., and other interested stakeholders in a unique public/private planning initiative, embodied in the Uptown/West Oakland EcoInnovation District plan (also referred to as the Uptown EcoInnovation District). This creates a first-ever City model, and among only a few nationally, that deploys best practices for a neighborhood to become “resilient, vibrant, resource efficient, and just.”

http://www.uptownpartners.org/

Duquesne University is also part of Pittsburgh's 2030 District Challenge, which is a partnership between building owners, facility managers, community partners, and local resource partners who are taking on aggressive reduction targets. The Pittsburgh District is a local initiative of the Green Building Alliance, which aims to reduce energy use, water consumption, and transportation emissions 50% by 2030. In addition, all new construction and renovation projects are predicted to be carbon neutral by 2030. The Pittsburgh District also aims to improve indoor air quality and were the first district in the network to collect and analyze indoor air quality data. By establishing relationships with building owners and managers and providing peer-to-peer learning and technical trainings opportunities, the Pittsburgh District is ranked at the top of the 2030 Challenge Network, with 86 million square feet committed and $344M saved in energy and water costs since 2012.

https://www.2030districts.org/pittsburgh

3 Rivers QUEST (Quality Useful Environmental Study Teams) is a comprehensive water quality monitoring and reporting program, sampling all three of Pittsburgh's rivers, their 3 Rivers Quest Siteheadwaters, and their tributaries. The Program was started by the West Virginia Water Research Institute at West Virginia University in 2009 sampling the Monongahela and has since expanded. Sampling has taken place over the past few years, with Duquesne joining the program in 2013. There are several groups involved in data collection:

Duquesne University sampling the Lower Allegheny River
RedHorse Environmental sampling on the Upper Allegheny
West Virginia University sampling the Monongahela River
West Liberty University sampling the Upper Ohio River

As the most important natural resources in Pittsburgh, the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers are great sources of drinking water. The Allegheny alone supplies water to more than one million people, and yet its use is threatened by our economic and industrial activities. Clean water is essential for life and it is important that we make efforts to monitor and improve the quality of the water upon which both people and the environment are reliant.

This program is important because, although water quality testing has been conducted in these river basins, no reporting program has been established that allows all data to be available to create a baseline of the water quality. This baseline will allow for future comparison of water quality. Visit their website for more details: https://3riversquest.wvu.edu/. This project would not be possible without the generous support from its Sponsor, the Colcom Foundation.

https://www.duq.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools/science-and-engineering/academics/departments-and-programs/cere/research-facilities.php

The Community Engagement Scholars (CES) is an academically rooted, mission driven program geared toward students passionate about community engagement, expanding their understanding of social justice, and developing as agents of positive change. The program includes community engagement, social justice education in curricular and co-curricular settings, wellbeing support, and a small stipend. The community organizations in which the students are placed span a variety of areas including but not limited to food insecurity, environmental advocacy, support for immigrant and refugee families, and transitional housing for homeless individuals. The program runs annually for a full academic year. CES is co-owned by Mission Animation and the Center for Community Engaged Teaching and Research.

Community-Engaged Teaching and Research (CETR) helps students and faculty collaborate with the community by bringing people and agencies together to build a positive and sustainable difference in the community.