Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.21
Liaison Lindsey Kalkbrenner
Submission Date May 5, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Santa Clara University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Lindsey Kalkbrenner
Director
Center for Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Bronco Urban Gardens (BUG)

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus?:
The partnership simultaneously supports social equity and wellbeing, economic prosperity, and ecological health

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (Yes, No, or Not Sure):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above:

Bronco Urban Gardens (BUG) services two marginalized elementary schools and their communities in the San Jose area. Utilizing urban gardening as a medium, BUG enhances ecological literacy, community health, and understanding of nutrition for children, youth, teachers, families and seniors. BUG is able to improve urban sustainability and environmental and food justice by developing organic gardens, garden education and training programs to promote access to healthful food. By developing and mentoring a new generation of environmental leaders, BUG continues to build a socially just and sustainable urban food system.

Find out more here: https://www.scu.edu/sustainability/programs/bug/


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Thriving Neighbors Initiative

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
The partnership simultaneously supports social equity and wellbeing, economic prosperity, and ecological health

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (2nd partnership) (Yes, No, or Not Sure):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above (2nd partnership):

https://www.scu.edu/ic/programs/thriving-neighbors/about/

The Thriving Neighbors Initiative is an engaged scholarship, teaching, and sustainable development initiative facilitated by SCU’s Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education. Our initial focus is on the five, predominantly Latino neighborhoods that make up the Greater Washington community in San Jose. Collectively, these communities have both extraordinary assets and significant challenges. Greater Washington is home to a driven and dedicated populace with a large immigrant population, strong community organizations, and seasoned community leaders. Conversely, it is also one of the most socioeconomically challenged regions of Santa Clara County, where families face significant barriers that impede their ability to live healthy and productive lives. The Thriving Neighbors Initiative links the University and community in projects that yield mutually beneficial outcomes. Together, we seek to encourage high-impact, community-engaged practice that enhances research and learning for the common good.

Thriving Neighbors Goals:

Build local capacity for expanded educational choice in Greater Washington such that children enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn, that students are supported and successful throughout elementary, middle and high school, and that they graduate from high school ready for college and careers.

Improve pathways to prosperity for community members by engaging with community partners to address health, legal and economic disparities with the intention of supporting children in their learning process.

Engage the University’s students, faculty, and staff in partnerships with Greater Washington residents, businesses, community leaders, and organizations to promote mutual learning, critical dialogue and transformational relationships through collaborative teaching, participatory action-research-based scholarship, and sustainable program development innovation.


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
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Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
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Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
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Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (3rd partnership):
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Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (3rd partnership) (Yes, No, or Unknown):
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A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above (3rd partnership):
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A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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