University of Massachusetts Amherst
EN-13: Community Stakeholder Engagement

STRATEGY: Chancellor Subbaswamy's Strategic Plan: In October of 2012, a Joint Task Force on Strategic Oversight (JTFSO) was charged to "make recommendations to the Chancellor with respect to a high-level Strategic Plan" to be submitted to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) as part of the campus's fifth-year interim accreditation report in August 2013. JTFSO is a group of 31 faculty, staff, and students appointed by the Chancellor and the Faculty Senate to lead the planning effort. That group, together with numerous committees and subcommittees, produced a draft of a first phase document that was put before the campus for review and comment during the spring semester of 2013. In all, more than 130 members of the community contributed to this document. JTFSO members presented the draft to more than two dozen administrative and governance groups, and convened four campus-wide open forums. On May 9, 2013, the document was presented to the Faculty Senate, which voted unanimously to "specifically support the report's broad goals of establishing UMASS/Amherst as a "destination of choice for the next generation of the Commonwealth's high school graduates" and as an "investment of choice in the Commonwealth's and nation's future" and to "recognize and applaud the fact that this was the first strategic planning process in the institution's history that was genuinely collaborative among faculty, students and administration."

Link: https://www.umass.edu/provost/strategic-planning

OPERATIONS: The Campus Master Plan: With the campus in the midst of a $1 billion capital improvement program, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has adopted a new physical master plan that looks 50 years into the future. The plan matches academic vision with facilities to strengthen a sense of community and enhance the campus's beauty. "This plan establishes a shared vision for future development," said Director of Campus Planning Dennis Swinford. "The administration held more than 90 events in the past year with key stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, our host communities and regional representatives and that was complemented by web-based surveys and applications to encourage participation."

Link: http://www.umass.edu/cp/mp.htm

The Provost and Chancellor's office solicited comments for the first phase of the strategic planning process mentioned above. The Chancellor wrote a personal letter to the campus community inviting the entire community to engage in the process and provide feedback on the first report: https://www.umass.edu/provost/sites/default/files/uploads/Chancellor%27s%20Message.pdf

For the Master Plan, the Campus Planning department held more than 90 events in 2011-2012 with key stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, our host communities and regional representatives and that was complemented by web-based surveys and applications to encourage participation, and it continues to hold quarterly master plan updates at community forums held on campus.

"The University of Massachusetts aims to institutionalize a climate of inclusivity that promotes a robust exchange of ideas, cross-racial and cross-cultural interaction and engagement, and the opportunity for all to participate. We do this through multiple initiatives and programs that promote inclusive excellence, including those focused on race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, age, national origin, and ethnicity, and also those based on hobbies, interests, geographical locations, personal style, and life experiences.
I work with Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy to implement the historical, “radical vision” of UMass that “any deserving citizen of Massachusetts, regardless of wealth or social status, should have access to higher education.” Despite the enormity and complexity of this vision in these challenging times, it is at the root of everything we do: Excellence in research, teaching, and service requires inclusiveness, and inclusion begets excellence. Go UMass!" - From Dr. Amilcar Shabazz, Diversity & Excellence Advisor to the Chancellor and Faculty Senate

Examples of community stakeholders:

Members of the Campus and Community Coalition (CCC, http://www.umass.edu/community):
Amherst beverage retailers
Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce
Amherst Fire Department
Amherst Health Department
Amherst Police Department
Amherst Select Board
Hadley Board of Selectmen
Belchertown Board of Health
Pioneer Valley Housing Association
Strategic Planning Intiative for Families and Youth (SPIFFY)
Town of Sunderland

LSAMP: Northeast Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (http://www.northeastern.edu/nelsamp/partners/university-of-massachusetts-amherst/):
This northeastern regional alliance is composed of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Northeastern University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Each partner participates in Alliance wide activities in addition to offering LSAMP-supported activities on their own campus. Currently, direct support to undergraduate students is offered in the form of research opportunities, pre-college and college academic preparation, and graduate school support. The program has also partnered with Susan Bronstein from Learning Resource Center and Greg Brown from Minority Engineering Program to recruit first year ALANA students to participate in the program.

Student Bridges Partners (http://www.studentbridges.org/sample-page-2/community-partnerships/):
Peck-Lawrence Full Service Community School
CHOICES run by Holyoke Community College
UMASS Amherst Upward Bound partnered with Commerce High School

Some of the exemplary community partnerships reviewed by the Carnegie Commission include (http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/carnegie-foundation-names-umass-amherst-):
The Adoption Mentoring Partnership is a collaboration between the Rudd Adoption Research Program in the psychological and brain sciences department at UMass Amherst and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Hampshire County. The program seeks to match UMass students who are adopted with adopted children in the community. Matched across a variety of factors, the mentors and children are able to form friendships grounded in the similarities between them, such as gender, race, ethnicity and adoption story. By providing a same-gender, same-race mentor for adopted children, the mentors become not only friends, but role models as well.

The Springfield/Holyoke Health Alliance for Research and Engagement (SHHARE) builds linkages among Public Health and Health Sciences faculty, students and community, applying principles of community-based participatory research to enhance joint efforts to solve pressing health problems in Holyoke and Springfield. Forums in Holyoke and Springfield have highlighted the work of community members, including the Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council, Gardening the Community, and Men of Color Health Awareness. SHHARE has also created a Who’s Who in Public Health in Western Massachusetts database, and has funded numerous internships in community health organizations.

The Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme provides design/build services to Kumik, a village in the Indian Himalayas, where chronic drought caused by climate change is forcing an entire community to move to a new site. Faculty work with villagers to help envision this process and plan with digital tools. Planning and design solutions will conserve scarce water, harness the region’s abundant solar energy, incorporate local materials and building wisdom, and generate much-needed income, as well as opportunities for improving the health, energy-efficiency and economic conditions.

The Center for Women & Community for 30 years has provided free general and trauma-based counseling and information and referral services for all Hampshire County residents. Services include online and in-person information and referral services; empowerment-based short-term counseling, support groups and referrals; support services for survivors of sexual assault; a 24-hour crisis hotline; access to medical and legal advocacy; peer counseling in Spanish and English; specialized services for teens and the Latino community; academic and social service advocacy, and outreach services in schools and community organization in Spanish and English.

Campus Master Plan (2012): http://www.umass.edu/cp/mp.htm
JTFSO Strategic Plan: http://www.umass.edu/chancellor/strategic-planning