| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.42 |
| Liaison | Austin Sutherland |
| Submission Date | Feb. 18, 2025 |
University of Pennsylvania
EN-10: Community Partnerships
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
1st Partnership
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
Three key strategies underpin our work. The first is academically based community service (ABCS), service rooted in and intrinsically connected to research, teaching, and learning. The second is university-assisted community schools (UACS), which educate, engage, empower, and serve not only students, but also all other members of the community, providing an organizing framework for bringing our programs, including ABCS courses, to West Philadelphia schools. Third, we view ABCS and UACS as core to a comprehensive anchor institution strategy in which universities engage in sustained, mutually beneficial partnerships with their communities. These strategies are shared with others across the country and around the world, serving as a model for democratic university-community engagement.
2nd Partnership
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
An emerging subnetwork, PHENND Sustainability, has convened to address the need for a coordinated approach to Education for Sustainability across the K-16 spectrum in the Delaware Valley. PHENND Sustainability aims to identify and build upon the great work happening in our schools and communities, and advocate for place-based, real world problem solving as a core pedagogical approach to sustainability education. https://phennd.org/grant/phennd-sustainability/
3rd Partnership
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability (OOS) has identified increased precipitation/flooding and higher temperatures as the main dangers of climate change to Philadelphia, with underserved neighborhoods inhabited primarly by Black and brown residents at risk for the worst effects. Many organizations, operating at multiple levels, are tracking extreme heat, with urban areas being of special concern. Cites are temperature hotspots that house large (and often increasing dense) populations. This community is led by Russell Composto, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Professor at Penn Engineering, and Kristin Field, Director of Education of PIRE REACT Program and the Singh Center for Nanotechnology. Together with the leadership of the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Co-Directors and Professors Eugenie Birch and Susan Wachter and Managing Director Amy Montgomery), they seek to deepen connections with OOS to determine whether Penn’s faculty and students could contribute to the immediate and longer-term City plans for adaptation to extreme heat events. This community of experts focusing on Philadelphia addresses an urgent need in our local community, and one with undeniable global relevance.
Optional Fields
Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.