Towson University is committed to community engagement and to making positive impacts in the Greater Baltimore region. However, we don’t do that work alone. We it do it through university-community partnerships. Earlier this week, we welcomed community partners to campus for BTU Community Conversation. The BTU Community Conversation was a part of the #TUprezschatzel inauguration week of activities.
This forum was a chance for community organizations, businesses, schools, healthcare providers, museums, and more to provide feedback and to help lay the foundation for BTU – Partnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore, President Kim Schatzel’s framework to support and grow university-community partnerships.
Over 60 partners attended, each of which are committed to working with TU in one of BTU’s five impact areas:
- High-quality and equitable education
- Strong neighborhoods and sustainable communities
- Thriving and competitive economy
- Lifelong health and well-being
- Vibrant arts and cultural community
BTU Community Conversation started with a networking reception with President Schatzel and her leadership team. Afterwards, our partners broke into four groups. Facilitated conversations were led by TU faculty and staff to better understand our partners’ needs and to help them to understand what TU can offer them. As President Schatzel said, “We’re often not aware what each of us can offer each other.”
Conversations were fruitful and we came away with a lot of information. A report is currently being compiled to capture all of the takeaways and needs identified and will be posted on the BTU website in the next few weeks.
University-community partnerships have been vital to TU for decades, but under President Schatzel’s leadership, the BTU Framework will provide more “presence, purpose, and priority” to the work.
To learn more about BTU and university-community partnerships at Towson University, visit www.towson.edu/BTU.
Update: Read the BTU Community Conversation Report
This report captures key takeaways, identifies partner needs, and serves as a guiding document for BTU. Read the entire BTU Community Conversation Report.
