Virginia Commonwealth University
EN-13: Community Stakeholder Engagement

VCU's Division of Community Engagement (DCE) is a unit under the Office of the Provost. The Vice Provost for Community Engagement is on the provost's leadership team. In this role, Dr. Cathy Howard carries forward the mission of community engagement to her counterparts in academic and faculty affairs, student affairs and other units. Through DCE initiatives such as service learning, ASPiRE and Neighborhood Outreach, the university serves as a bridge that mobilizes university-community partnerships. Under the DCE, Neighborhood Outreach works to build and strengthen relationships with the external community, specifically the five neighborhoods that surround VCU. The neighborhood outreach director meets regularly with a team of liaisons from the surrounding communities to discuss issues of common concern and to develop programs/events that enable students, staff/faculty and residents to work collaboratively to address community-identified needs. The vice provost and neighborhood outreach director are consulted on issues that affect the community, including capital projects. Often, these issues require the university to meet with individuals and groups from the community. While this is not systematically implemented as a policy, it has become a part of the culture of the institution. Annually, Dr. Michael Rao and other university leaders meet with community leaders to share VCU's developments over the past year and gather feedback from the community. VCU's report typically includes a brief State of the University, a capital plan progress report and a public safety report. The DCE follows up with community members and groups on any issues that may require further communication.

The Division of Community Engagement created the Neighborhood Team to discuss community issues and share information among units. The group, which includes VCU Police, Student Affairs, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Office of Student Conduct & Academic Integrity, and Residential Life & Housing, meets quarterly. Community members identified as neighborhood liaisons participate in two of the four meetings. VCU Police created a position specifically to build relationships with community members and help address issues involving university students who live near VCU. The external affairs officer attends several neighborhood association meetings, provides updates and takes student-related complaints. He follows up with students, landlords and the community at subsequent meetings.

Neighborhood associations near VCU, including: Carver, Jackson Ward, The Fan, Randolph, Oregon Hill and Church Hill Carver Area Civic Improvement League The Fan District Association Historic Jackson Ward Association Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association Randolph Neighborhood Association Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond YMCA of Greater Richmond Art 180 Hanover Positive Action Club Hanover Youth Leadership Council Higher Achievement Mayor's Youth Academy Richmond Behavioral Health Authority Richmond Department of Parks and Recreation Police Athletic League Richmond Public Schools - Carver Elementary Middle School Renaissance 2020 Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority St. Andrew's School 10,000 Villages A Grace Place Boaz and Ruth Bradley Free Clinic Camp Diva Capital One Boys and Girls Club CARITAS Carver Promise CBS 6 Center for High Blood Pressure Central VA Waste Management Authority Central Virginia Asthma Coalition Charlottesville Free Clinic Chesapeake Care Free Clinic Chester House- Chesterfield County Community Services Board Chesterfield County Public Schools: Cosby High School Chesterfield County Public Schools: Hopkins Elementary School Chesterfield Health District Chimborazo Elementary School Circle Center Adult Day Services Clover Hill High School Communities In Schools of Richmond Community Dental Clinic Community Kitchen Garden, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Continental Societies of Richmond Craniofacial Clinic Cross Over Ministries Clinic CrossOver Ministry Dental Clinic Daily Planet Dental Medicine District One Probation and Parole Office East End Cemetery F.I.R.S.T. Contractors Family Lifeline Fan Free Clinic Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg FeedMore Free Clinic of Central Virginia Free Clinic of Central Virginia- Lynchburg Friends Association for Children Friends of James River Park Gateway Homes, Inc. Goochland Free Clinic Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services Hands Up Ministry Hanover County School Health Services Hanover Interfaith Free Clinics at Mechanicsville Christian Center Hanover Safe Place Health and Wellness Initiative Higher Achievement Highland Spring Support Project Highland Support Project Home Again Hopewell High School James River Park System Lobs & Lessons Lucy Corr Village Mary and Frances Youth Center Master Gardeners (Chesterfield County chapter) Master Naturalists (Pocahontas Chapter) Maymont Park Maymont Park Foundation MCV Child Care Center Metro Cash Micah Initiative Minority Health Consortium Mosby Tenant Association Neighbor-To-Neighbor Initiative Neighborhood Resource Center Northern Neck Free Health Clinic Northminster Church Offender Aid and Restoration Open Door Resource Center Park Place Dental Clinic Park Place Health and Dental Clinic Partnership for Families Northside PATHS Community Dental Center Paul Manning and the City of Richmond Mayor's Office Peter Paul Development Center Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, Inc., Native Bee Garden Powhatan High School Prince George High School ReStore Habitat for Humanity Richmond ARC Richmond City Health District Richmond City Jail Richmond City Public Schools: Binford Middle School Richmond City Public Schools: John Marshall High School Richmond City Public Schools: Richmond Community High School Richmond City Sheriff's Office Richmond Memorial Foundation Richmond Peace Education Center Richmond Promise Neighborhood Richmond Public Schools: Binford Middle School Richmond Redvelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) Richmond Sister Cities Commission ROOTS: Reinventing Ourselves Outside the System RRHA S.A.V.E.S. & M.A.V. (student organizations at VCU through the VCU Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Services) Sacred Heart Center Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club School of Nursing Shalom Farms Sinomlando, University of KwaZulu Natal South Africa Southwest Virginia Regional Dental Center Special Olympics Virginia Sportable St. Andrew's Schools Stuff Redux The Daily Planet Healthcare Center-Medical Respite Facility The Healing Place The James House The Mill House The Virginia Home United Methodist Family Services US Fish and Wildlife Service VA Cooperative Extension VA Department of Conservation and Recreation VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Varina High School VCU Art of Nursing VCU Child Development Center VCU Wellness Resource Center Virginia Department of Emergency Management Virginia Friends of Mali VMFA Westminster Cantebury Woodville Elementary School YWCA of Greater Richmond