Building an Engagement Center through Love of Place: The Story of the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center
Keywords:
University Engagement, Partnerships, Community EngagementAbstract
Universities throughout the United States operate engagement centers to extend campus faculty, staff and student resources to their communities. In 2014, the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) opened the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (Weitz CEC): a privately funded $24 million, 70,000 square foot facility located in the middle of its original Dodge Street campus. In addition to offices for its service learning and community service enterprises, the CEC houses over thirty university and community organizations and offers extensive space for meetings, dialogue and collaboration. This paper will discuss its strategic and programmatic origins, unique design, and lessons learned in developing and operating the center.
References
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Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center. (2016). Our mission and vision. Retrieved from http://www.unomaha.edu/community-engagement-center/about-the-weitz-cec/our-mission-and-vision.php.
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