University/Community partnerships recognized
24 September 2003
| |    Collaborators in the partnership between the World Institute on Disability and the campus Disability Studies Program accept congratulations from Chancellor Berdahl (standing, far right) and Director of Community Relations Irene Hegarty (second from right) at last week’s recognition ceremony at University House. Peg Skorpinski photo |
On Sept. 18, Chancellor Robert Berdahl and his wife, Peg, hosted the fourth annual University/Community Partnerships reception to spotlight eight innovative programs.
The community-recognition event celebrated wide-ranging projects in the areas of access to higher education, public health, science and environmental education, social welfare, services and resources for persons with disabilities and learning difficulties, and youth/business mentorship.
“I am very proud to recognize and celebrate these remarkable partnerships, which improve many lives and demonstrate the kindness, determination and strength of the human spirit,” the chancellor said.
The 2003 programs that were honored are:
• Community Health Academy: The academy promotes the physical, mental, spiritual, environmental, and economic health of the community by training participants as community agents of change.
• Destination: College AmeriCorps Program: More than 70 Berkeley undergraduate AmeriCorps members are trained and placed in Bay Area schools to tutor and mentor low-income, potential first-generation college students about college acceptance rates and admissions, test scores, and grades.
• Eastmont Digital Griots En-Route to College (E.D.G.E.): A digital storytelling class for middle-school and high-school students, E.D.G.E. combines training in filmmaking, writing, critical thinking, and preparation for college.
• New Learning Clinic: The UC Berkeley Extension Department of Education works with various local schools, nonprofit organizations, and agencies to provide low-cost screenings, assessments, one-on-one remediation, and small-group instruction for students and adults with learning disabilities.
• Plant Genomics Training and Education Program: The National Science Foundation’s Potato Genome Project promotes science education and environmental awareness through public exhibits, community biodiversity gardens, and summer training and education workshops using real-world application of the latest genomic technology.
• School of Social Welfare – Allen Temple Baptist Church Partnership: This outreach program brings Berkeley social-work students into the inner city to provide comprehensive and preventive services. They help mobilize community resources and bridge the gap in social-work education between direct services and community organizations.
• World Institute on Disability/Disability Studies Program: A longstanding partnership between the Oakland-based institute and UC Berkeley created the campus’s Disability Studies Program. Today it involves 35 faculty members from academic units across the campus.
• Young Entrepreneurs at Haas: Using the principles and real-life lessons of business finance and entrepreneurship, undergraduate mentors from the Haas School of Business motivate, educate, and support students in grades 9 through 11 to achieve higher education and connect school personnel to campus resources.