Background

Staff Contact:

In the fall of 2007, Dr. Ira Harkavy, Associate Vice President for Community Partnerships and Director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, visited the University of Tennessee to address university-school-community partnerships. His address and several community school site visits motivated us to assess our commitment to the surrounding community. Dr. Harkavy's visit propelled the center and other University colleges and departments toward a more community-minded approach to policy issues (focus on partnerships that can work toward solving complex interdisciplinary social problems).

In the spring 2008, Dr. Ralph Rosen, classics professor from the University of Pennsylvania, visited campus to address how faculty members can get involved by taking their students and their expertise (a course) and teaching at the local high school. After meeting with students, faculty, and staff, Dr. Rosen left stories and examples of how individuals can think about changing their day-to-day work to incorporate community needs. As he so eloquently stated, "If a classics professor can work with the community, anyone can!"

The fall of 2008 brought the voice of Dr. Henry Lewis Taylor, urban planning professor from the University of Buffalo, when he visited campus to share his reflections on the land grant mission and how that connects with direct work in the community. He urged faculty and students at the University of Tennessee to get involved with community issues that are often times complex and multidimensional. The university's resources should be put to work!

In the spring of 2009, some University of Tennessee students visited the Phillips Brooks House Association at Harvard University (www.pbha.org ). These students were motivated to think about student community service in a deeper, more community-minded way using an asset-based approach (when talking to the community, asking about their organization's strengths as opposed to their problems). These students are working to make student community service more collaborative, sustainable, and reflective. Contact Elizabeth Williams (ewilli53@utk.edu) and Jayanni Webster (jwebst16@utk.edu) for more information.

Upcoming Events

• Tapping into Water
  Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010
• Tapping into Water
  Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010
• Tapping into Water
  Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010
• Tapping into Water
  Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010

Opportunities@BakerCenter

Contact Senator Baker

Honorable Howard H. Baker, Jr.
P.O. Box 600
Huntsville, TN 37756
423-663-9148
hbaker@bakerdonelson.com