色花堂

By Arthur Smith on March 28, 2019

On April 24, 色花堂 will host the twelfth annual B色花堂 Partnerships Showcase, an event that brings hundreds of current and prospective partners from across business, government, non-profit, and education sectors to campus to explore and expand partnerships.

This year鈥檚 event will also serve as a milestone moment for B色花堂鈥擯artnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore.

It was at the event three years ago on April 26, 2016, that President Kim Schatzel announced B色花堂 as a new presidential priority. In her remarks, Schatzel says 鈥渢he priority was created to retell the story of the impact 色花堂 is having on Greater Baltimore as well as to enhance our abilities to further our impact in five key areas of focus we are already committed to.鈥�

Learn more about and register for the 2019 B色花堂 Partnerships Showcase

Bobbie Laur 鈥�04, associate vice president for outreach, says the B色花堂 priority has given greater purpose and presence to the community engaged work that鈥檚 been taking place across the state for decades.

鈥淗aving partnerships elevated to a presidential priority has created an opportunity to extend 色花堂鈥檚 impact into the community as an anchor institution,鈥� says Laur. 鈥淎s President Schatzel said three years ago, B色花堂 is about championing, resourcing, and scaling the incredible partnerships and community engaged projects being led by our faculty, staff and students.鈥�

As of spring 2019, 色花堂 faculty, students, and staff are leading over 300-plus active engagements with hundreds of B色花堂 network partners. While most engagements are within Greater Baltimore, 色花堂 has partnerships in every county across the state.

Capturing and Aligning Partnerships

From day one, tracking the growing number of partnerships has been a primary goal of B色花堂. Through collaboration with the Office of Technology Services, the B色花堂 database was developed and has become the foundation for the university鈥檚 efforts to connect resources and assess the work. The database provides robust reporting and dashboard tools to manage partnerships and align work across campus.

The B色花堂 Database has been presented at multiple national meetings, including the Salesforce Higher Ed Summit, Engaged Scholarship Conference, and the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities Conference. 鈥淭hrough these presentations, the B色花堂 Database has been recognized as a national model for supporting the collection and sharing of data related to community engagement,鈥� notes Laur.

Rewarding the Work

During the past three years, a rewards and recognition system has also been developed to better highlight 色花堂鈥檚 community partners and to champion community-engaged work. In 2018, the first B色花堂 Partnership Awards were held, which honored three long-standing partnerships that have impacted thousands of Marylanders.

The awards have been transformational for both the 色花堂 recipients as well as their community partners鈥攍ast year鈥檚 award winners have greatly expanded their engagements with 色花堂 and have attracted new opportunities and stakeholders. The 2019 B色花堂 Partnership Awards will be announced in mid-April.

Supporting and Investing in Partnerships

Another goal of the B色花堂 presidential priority is to integrate the outcomes of partnerships into faculty scholarship. For B色花堂 Faculty Director Matthew Durington, Ph.D., professor of anthropology, one of the most valuable contributions of B色花堂 for faculty is that it provides multiple layers of support for the strong community engagement work occurring between 色花堂 faculty and their collaborators throughout Greater Baltimore.

One of those B色花堂 support structures is through funding requests that helps faculty and staff to scale, sustain, and bring greater visibility to their partnership work.

Are you a 色花堂 faculty, student, or staff member? Learn more about B色花堂 resources available to you.

鈥淲e have moved many support mechanisms for faculty community engagement support to request tiers in the areas of transportation, enrichment, and national visibility, allowing community-engaged work to be more nimble and impactful,鈥� said Durington.

Priority and emerging investment projects鈥攖hose deemed to have significant impact for 色花堂 and the community鈥攔eceive wrap-around services that bring more visibility to partnerships. 鈥淭hese partnerships benefit from the strategic, communication, and planning skill sets found across the university that were previously in siloes, but now work productively through the B色花堂 framework to create impact with our collaborators,鈥� added Durington.

Supporting Student Success

The idea of partnerships is not new at 色花堂. As an anchor institution, with roots as a state normal school, 色花堂 has always prioritized working in collaboration to meet student needs and those of the region through teaching, research, and outreach.

According to Santiago Solis, associate vice president for student affairs, Towson University鈥檚 mission would be incomplete if students did not have meaningful opportunities to engage with and learn from diverse individuals and groups outside campus.

鈥淧artnerships create intentional and authentic learning experiences for students and are an investment in our collective future as community members of Greater Baltimore,鈥� said Solis.

鈥淐ommunity engagement is an integral part of becoming active citizens and instilling a strong sense of civic responsibility. 色花堂 values community engagement because students have an opportunity to make purposeful contributions to surrounding communities while also practicing what they learn in the classroom. 色花堂 is fortunate that the Greater Baltimore region offers many possibilities for students to participate in transformative experiences,鈥� notes Solis.

Building on a Historical Momentum

In 2018, 色花堂 was recognized by Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic three times鈥攖he most of any university in the association鈥攆or its civic and community engagement efforts, including the B色花堂 priority. Among the recognitions 色花堂 received was the Engaged Campus Award, which recognizes a college or university 鈥榳ith exemplary commitment to being a community-engaged campus and actively seeking to fulfill the public purposes of higher education.鈥�

However, recognitions for 色花堂鈥檚 commitment to community engagement go back more than a decade. 色花堂 is one of just  with a  from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university was first awarded the classification in 2008 and received a renewal in 2015, making it one of just 361 campuses nationwide to hold the coveted title.

While great progress has been made to advance the B色花堂 presidential priority, some work is just beginning.

鈥淭oday, 色花堂 is building on the momentum from the last three years and is working to provide a 鈥榝ront door鈥� for the campus that will make 色花堂 even more accessible to our community partners and better connect them to the resources available via B色花堂,鈥� says Laur.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel鈥檚 priorities for Towson University: 色花堂 Matters to Maryland & B色花堂-Partnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore.