Community Engagement Council

Illinois Tech was founded to be an engine of opportunity for all people. Now more than ever, when the value of higher education is being questioned by many in society, institutions like ours are demonstrating its transformative power. Our purpose to liberate the power of diverse perspectives to advance technology and progress for all is practiced across the institution, through research, curricula, outreach and engagement initiatives. However, these efforts often occur independently, inhibiting our ability to showcase the overall story of our great work, and forge strategic partnerships. 

To maximize our collective impact to all our stakeholders, we are establishing the Illinois Tech Community Engagement Council to unify our efforts around creating mutually beneficial partnerships between Illinois Tech and neighboring communities. Under the auspices of the Offices of the President and Provost, this Community Engagement Council will align efforts underway via the Office of Community Affairs and Outreach Programs, Office of Research, and the faculty-led Community Engaged Research Coalition (CERC). Alicia Bunton, Assistant Vice President of Community Affairs and Professor Weslynne Ashton, will co-lead the Council.

Goals

The Council will institutionalize community engagement as a core value of Illinois Tech and a central tenet of our institutional identity. By bringing together disparate efforts across the university, we will develop a cohesive framework of policies, curricula and programming. This effort will also clarify how engagement with our communities benefits individual faculty, staff, students, our institution and the broader community, while identifying mechanisms for incentivizing participation. 

This initiative fully aligns with our vision for inclusive innovation, and emphasizes the imperative of collaborating with our diverse communities to address the critical challenges of the 21st century. We can do this most effectively by listening to the diverse voices and perspectives across our greater community, so that Illinois Tech can continue to provide solutions to advance technology and progress for all. 

The Council will conduct a comprehensive analysis of community engagement initiatives within Illinois Tech and our surrounding neighborhoods, with a focus on partnerships within the Bronzeville community. This interdisciplinary team will be comprised of Illinois Tech students, faculty, staff, and community members from Bronzeville. 

The Council will be split into 6 committees. Each committee will be a group of 5 or 6 individuals who will, as a group, focus their analysis and discussions on one focus area for the duration of the year. Each committee will have two co-leads: 1 faculty or staff member and 1 student member.

Timeline

The Council is expected to meet for two academic years 2024-2026. We kicked-off on September 16, 2024 and will end Year One in May 2025. Year Two will begin in August 2025.

• Year One is dedicated to examining the practices happening within Illinois Tech that enable or constrain mutually beneficial community engagement

Planned Deliverables

We plan to create a research report outlining our findings from the year. In addition, near May 2025, a public presentation of our findings will be given. We will invite the Illinois Tech and the Bronzeville communities to join us.