April 27, 2006
UW and South Seattle Community College: Partnership benefits both
Here’s a little-known fact: When a big research university and a small community college become friends and start working together, the results can benefit both institutions, not just the smaller one.
And further, when the two institutions set their combined sights on economic and personal development in the challenged area covered by the smaller school, the partnership can take on practical, real-world meaning — and things can really get done.
That’s the case with the UW and South Seattle Community College (SSCC) this spring, and a new partnership forged between them by the Office of UW-Community Partnerships, led by Vice Provost Louis Fox. The new partnership will be kicked off with a public tour of SSCC and surrounding neighborhoods on May 3. (Click here for details; tomorrow, April 28, is the deadline for registering.)
Oh, and it helps to have Jim Diers working for you, too. The popular former director of neighborhoods for the City of Seattle is now community liaison for the Office of UW-Community Partnerships, which was key in forging the agreement between the two schools.
The partnership in its early stage is focusing on development in three South Seattle neighborhoods — South Park, Delridge and White Center, neighborhoods where Diers has a long history of work. Startup funding for the work came in the form of a $20,000 grant from the Seattle Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization.
“SCCC is the most diverse community college in the state and has a strong ELL (English Language Learners; formerly ESL: English as a Second Language) program,” Diers said. “And diversity is a big issue for the UW.”
He added that the West Seattle Bridge, which separates these communities from the main part of the city, often looms as too large an obstacle for low-income populations of South Seattle. “That bridge is a huge psychological barrier, and people tend not to come over it,” he said.
The area in question has 56,000 residents with mostly low and moderate incomes, many under-performing schools and relatively few students who go on to college. But the area also is rich in diversity, community green spaces and gardens, local businesses and industry and strong community-based organizations. These all bode well for keeping the work of the partnership alive and healthy.
“The work that is developing in South Seattle is a great example of the work of our office,” Diers said. “We look for opportunities to collaborate with higher education institutions and communities on projects that bring benefits to all.”
The purposes of the collaboration, according to the agreement document, are several: “to advance educational opportunities, enhance research and learning, and contribute to the public good.” Hoped-for benefits of the partnership include:
- Encouraging more residents to enroll in either institution, and more graduates of SSCC to consider continuing their education at the UW.
- Providing faculty and student support for community initiatives.
- Enhancing faculty and student access, understanding and support of these communities.
The partnership’s activities during the first year included opening an office in White Center, convening a community advisory committee and fostering projects with community organizations and departments.
In South Park, for example, faculty and students are using an organic farm to teach elementary school kids about everything from architecture to zucchini. In Delridge, an SSCC class is conducting an oral history project to help the community learn from the past while a UW Urban Planning class helps the community plan for the future.
The future is full of promise. Student-related projects that might be undertaken include offering a UW Certificate path in Construction, with a practicum involving apprentices and the construction of affordable housing, which interests Diers greatly. “That would make SCCC students employable at a much higher wage, but also offer a practical part — we could build real buildings.”
There also are many English language learners in the three-community area, Diers said, which opens up the possibility of establishing a “pipeline” from the UW College of Education to send teachers and counselors to the much-needed area.
Jill Wakefield, president of SSCC said having the UW presence in the area “speaks loudly to the community, and it speaks to the college, too.”
She said, “I see the partnership as providing tremendous opportunities for both institutions to better serve our community. It utilizes the strengths of both colleges and our connections to the community so that we can extend what each of us does to provide a better package of services and support — so we can truly have an opportunity to make a difference.”
