Community-Campus Partnership Update – Summer 2011

Community and Economic Development – Blog by UNC School of Government

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Community-Campus Partnership Update – Summer 2011

By CED Guest Author

Published June 17, 2011

Kendra Cotton is project director for the Community-Campus Partnership.

The Community-Campus Partnership (CCP) is approaching the end of its second year. This post provides a brief summary of several ongoing projects in Lenoir and Caswell Counties.

• Kinston Promise Neighborhood Program: Kinston Promise is a comprehensive approach to educating children and strengthening families in the town of Kinston, a small community in eastern North Carolina. On June 16, community stakeholders came together and expressed their intent to submit an application for the new round of Promise Neighborhood grants that was announced by the U.S. Department of Education in April. Representatives from a variety of community groups and the Governor’s Office were present. Community leaders in Kinston will be seeking university partners, especially faculty and students interested in community-based data collection and program evaluation, for their Promise Neighborhood project.

• Mobile planetarium makes Lenoir County debut: The mobile planetarium from UNC’s Morehead Planetarium is making the rounds in Lenoir County elementary schools. This project, a partnership between Morehead and the local school district, was made possible by a small grant from CCP. According to Tezella Cline, Professional Development Coordinator with Lenoir County Schools, the project is “so awesome..The children get an opportunity to explore the planet and experience the planetarium, which they may not have done.”

• Town of Yanceyville summer internship: Libby Hodges, a recent graduate of the Carolina Master of Public Administration (MPA) program  is working with the Town of Yanceyville as a summer intern. Libby’s internship will involve working on four NC STEP funded economic development projects with the. The projects include signage and street lighting improvements, a community wi-fi project, the implementation of a business grant program and setting up the town’s GIS system. Readers can expect regular updates from Libby.

• Upcoming CCP partners’ meeting: On July 7, campus and community partners from Caswell and Lenoir counties will convene at the School of Government to review accomplishments and to chart out next steps for the partnership. The CCP small grant recipients will provide updates on their projects.