Deepening Campus-Community Relationships Through STEM Outreach
In 2020, I researched the history of campus–community collaboration at the University of Illinois to support the development of Communiversity, a key program within the Chancellor’s STEM Illinois initiative. Communiversity aims to expand access to STEM education for historically under-invested minority communities in Central Illinois and Chicago. Working alongside community members, faculty, and staff, my team created a unified engagement framework to connect community needs with University resources and align efforts across campus.
Role
Project Co-Lead & Design Researcher
Topic Area
Education & Community Engagement
Project Type
Research & Strategy
Our Process
This project focused on the fundamental dynamics of trust, reciprocity, and coexistence between the University of Illinois campus and the broader Champaign-Urbana community of which it is a part. We conducted 18 in-depth, semi-structured virtual interviews with community and campus leaders who often traversed the campus-community boundary: community journalists, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Champaign County, Director of the Education Justice Project, etc.
In addition to one-on-one interviews, we conducted co-creation sessions with key community leaders, faculty conducting community-based research, and campus-based outreach staff. This co-creation focused on brainstorming how campus-community engagement could evolve to foster greater mutuality.
Outputs
As a foundational research project, our final report synthesized the emergent themes with three methods:
Design Principles to guide the development of all programs within Communiversity.
Personas that articulate behavioral segments of individuals traversing the metaphorical border of campus and community.
A programmatic journey mapping a meaningful framework for amplifying and unifying the University’s community engagement efforts.
I. Design Principles
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Act in service of identified community needs. Put public engagement first, and position all research in collaboration with and in service of the community.
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Unify a disparate landscape of initiatives. Elevate and bring together cross-campus efforts to better maintain community relationships.
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Inform the community of the resources available to them. Invite the surrounding community to accessible experiences and validate their presence.
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Build ownership through welcoming engagements. Embed community members into all levels of programming.
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Create sustainable programming. Structure engagements that withstand transition and grow with an evolving community.
II. Personas
We identified 6 personas representing behavioral segments of the individuals who intentionally engage as intermediaries between the University and the Community. These personas tended to be mission-driven (e.g. highly motivated by the larger “why” of their work) or results driven (e.g. more interested in the tangible impacts they have on individuals) and were in positions that focused on either building up existing programs and initiatives or were responsible for breaking ground on new programs and initiatives to fill a gap.
In addition to covering the strengths and attributes of each persona, our final report included common disruptions for each persona and methods for investing in their success.
III. Programmatic Journey Map
Our research mapped a 3-stage journey for traversing between the community and the University. For each stage, we expanded upon key moments that mattered, highlighting opportunities and barriers. This provided STEM Illinois a foundation to anchor several programs and initiatives. These journeys provided the rationale for Communiversity as the answer to the question of “How might we create a sustainable engagement structure to connect with people on their journey to partnership & programming?”
We also laid the groundwork for essential follow-up work:
Further engage additional community members, with a focus on K-12 students.
Develop a tool to assist individuals in self-identifying with one of the 6 personas. Create mechanisms to facilitate connections between personas of complementary skills
Translate the design principles into a “gut check” to prioritize future partnership opportunities.
Reimagine the role of tenure for faculty striving to be more community-centric.
