West Chester University of Pennsylvania
EN-10: Community Partnerships

West Chester University partners with the Chester County Food Bank (CCFB) for various projects, including: 1) ongoing recognition of the WCU Resource Pantry as a Tier II Member Agency with the CCFB. The CCFB provides the Resource Pantry with unlimited supply of non-perishable food items and other resources, including staff training. The WCU Resource Pantry supports student success by minimizing food and basic need insecurity and preparing students for life after graduation. 2) The CCFB partners with WCU to provide community service and volunteer opportunities to WCU students, for both curricular and co-curricular purposes. 3) The CCFB works closely with the WCU campus gardens to provide training, support and materials for both students and staff/faculty.

RamCorps is a civic leadership program for WCU students committed to the ideals of public service, active citizenship, and the promotion of positive social change. The program offers a variety of opportunities for students to positively impact the university and wider communities while completing their programs of study at WCU. Most RamCorps members are matched with a local non-profit organization to support work that advances their mission. During the 2020-2021 academic year, a RamCorps member was placed with the Brandywine Conservancy. The RamCorps member was trained, paid, and supported by WCU to work for Brandywine between 6-10 hours per week to advance their mission to protect and conserve the land, water, natural and cultural resources of the Brandywine-Christina watershed.

West Chester University's Center for Civic Engagement & Social Impact (CCESI) promotes community-based learning experiences that address issues of public concern by building mutually beneficial partnerships and empowering students to be active citizens in their local, national and global communities. CCESI's 60+ community partners are understood as "co-educators" as they provide spaces through which students not only contribute to their mission- but also through which students can learn about the issues the organization seeks to address. CCESI maintains such mutually beneficial partnerships with sustainability-focused organizations including Open Land Conservancy of Chester County; Brandywine Red Clay Alliance; the Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, and the Barn at Spring Brook Farm. On an ongoing basis, CCESI actively promotes their events while recruiting volunteers to meet their needs.

Throughout West Chester University there are many examples of institutional commitments to building sustainable, mutually beneficial, and transformative community partnerships with stakeholders in the region, state, nation, and beyond. In 2010, WCU first received the Carnegie Foundation Classification for Community Engagement, based on evidence that the institution was engaged in mutually beneficial partnerships with the larger community and thoroughly committed to this work. In February 2020, WCU received the 2020 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification endorsement from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, one of 359 campuses to be so honored. Applying for the re-designation involved data collection and documentation of important aspects of institutional mission, identity, and commitment related to community engagement. Many of the community partnerships between WCU and the community are multifaceted, meaningful and sustainable. Partnerships exist across disciplines and industries. For example, the campus Recreation center maintains a partnership with the "Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics," a national non-profit that provides educational programming on responsible recreation and research on human impacts -- while WCU's Museum of Anthropology and Archeology maintains partnerships with organizations such as the Brandywine River Museum and the Onaman Collective to advance sustainability.

Data Source: Seth Jacobson, Center for Civic Engagement (sjacobson2@wcupa.edu)
Data Entry: Lois Howell, 21-Dec-21