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The Division of Community Affairs in a Research University

The Division of Community Affairs is helping the University fulfill its mission to advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of Alabama through quality programs that connect our mission of teaching, research, and service in ways that improve the quality of life for individuals and communities through:

  • Innovative programs such as the nationally recognized Parent Leadership Academy that teaches parents not only to be a crucial part of their children’s education but also to become local educational leaders.
  • Saving Lives, a faith-based wellness program that reduces obesity, diabetes, and heart disease among high-risk populations.
  • Scholars for Community Outreach Partnerships and Engagement (SCOPE), an organization that connects undergraduate and graduate students interested in research involving communities with other students with similar interests and with faculty mentors.
  • Sustained Dialogue, a network of college students who receive training in intercultural communication skills that help them to succeed and address the complex issues that face a global society.
  • Providing research seed funding, recognition programs, and the publication of the leading international peer-reviewed journal on the scholarship of community/university partnership and engagement, all of which support the efforts of faculty, staff, students, and community partners.

Mission

The mission of the Center for Community-Based Partnerships, an initiative of the Division of Community Affairs, is to connect faculty, staff, students and community partners in research-based projects designed to solve critical problems identified collaboratively by community members and the University.

Vision

CCBP’s vision is of a University whose resources and strengths are made available through partnerships in communities throughout the state, nation and world to help solve society’s critical problems.

Purpose

The CCBP is one of the campus’ main engines in the support of the University’s efforts to be an engaged institution as defined the Kellogg Commission: An engaged institution is responsive to the needs of today’s students and tomorrow’s. It enriches the student experience by bringing research into the curriculum and offering practical experience in the world they will enter. It forms partnerships of faculty, students and communities to put knowledge and skills to work on today’s most critical problems. — From Returning to Our Roots: The Engaged Institution, Kellogg Commission Report, 1999).