Campus Spotlight: Marquette University

October 31, 2017

On November 6, Marquette University (MU) will host the2nd annual Community Engagement Symposium promoting engaged research and scholarship to confront issues of social justice.  The Symposium is under the direction of the Office of Community Engagement, established in early 2016 as the central clearinghouse for community engagement activities, with a focus onbidirectional, community-based research partnerships.
 
As a Jesuit institution, Marquette University recognizes that deep community partnerships are critical to building a more just world.  MU helped launch and continues to serve as an anchor institution for the Near West Side Partners, a nonprofit organization with the mission to revitalize and sustain the seven-neighborhood district that makes up Milwaukee’s Near West Side.  Marquette’s engaged leadership in this effort includes the involvement of hundreds of students and more than a dozen faculty in researching and evaluating project impacts, designing campaigns to attract new businesses, and other direct service efforts in the district. The partnership and its $1.5 million, three-year PARC Initiative (short for Promoting Assets, Reducing Crime) have galvanized university, government, industry, resident and nonprofit partners to generate increased economic opportunity through commercial and residential investment. This partnership was awarded the 2016 Esther Letven Campus-Community Partnership and was recognized by the Washington Center 2016 Higher Education Civic Engagement Award.
 
Marquette’s commitment to community engagement is further reflected in its strategic plan, Beyond Boundaries, which identifies “Social Responsibility through Community Engagement” as one of six core themes.