The Charlottesille Institute and the City of Charlottesville are starting to lay the groundwork for a major event in Fall 2013 that will bring some of the best minds at the University of Virginia together with Charlottesville-area civic, business and community leaders to explore new and innovative ways of breaking the cycle of poverty in our region through skilled-trades jobs and entrepreneurship.
At this day-long "Economic Opportunity Summit," faculty and students from the Darden School of Business, the McIntire School of Commerce, the Batten School of Public Policy and elsewhere at UVa will be invited to join with local residents and officials, experts in the field, and representatives from communities who have best practices to share, to generate actionable ideas for helping low-income residents to build a brighter future for themselves and their children by accessing living-wage, career-ladder jobs and trades.
Dave Norris, Executive Director of The Charlottesville Institute, recently announced that he was not running for re-election to Charlottesville City Council this year (see here). "Planning this Economic Opportunity Summit will be a major focus of my remaining time on Council and will benefit from the connections I've made through The Charlottesville Institute," says Norris. "I am excited about what can happen when we bring so many intelligent and resourceful people together with a common focus on creating innovative and effective solutions to poverty in our community."
Date, location, speakers and agenda for the Summit are to be announced. Stay tuned for more info.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The Year in Review, And a Modest Request
As we wrap up the first year in the life of The Charlottesville Institute, we would like to thank everyone for their support during 2012 and we wish you all the happiest of holidays.
This time last year, The Charlottesville Institute was just a concept, premised on the notion that the Charlottesville community doesn't do nearly enough to take advantage of the tremendous intellectual resources at the University of Virginia to help us address local challenges and make life better for our residents.
In January of 2012, the Institute officially launched. Upon hearing of our mission to invite, inspire and facilitate greater participation by UVa faculty and students in local public policy and civic engagement initiatives, the editorial board of the The Daily Progress praised the Institute as a "smart use of the University's bright minds...with the potential to affect Charlottesville in a major way."
It has been a busy first year. And we have only begun to realize the significant impact that an organization like The Charlottesville Institute can make.
The University of Virginia, as an institution, is widely perceived to be detached from the city that surrounds it. As we are learning through the Community Listening Project that we kicked off in May, many local residents feel a real sense of disconnect from the University and do not believe that UVa does enough to engage in positive and mutually beneficial ways with the community. (There are notable exceptions -- e.g., Madison House.)
Interestingly, what we have found through our work at the Institute this year is that many UVa faculty and students wholeheartedly agree with these perceptions, and earnestly wish to overcome them. They are eager to find creative and innovative ways of applying what they're teaching and learning in a real-world context, which will both enrich their academic experience and benefit the Charlottesville community. Everyone wins.
This is where The Charlottesville Institute can play, and has already begun to play, a valuable role.
During 2012, staff from The Charlottesville Institute have undertaken a number of initiatives to bring local issues to the attention of the University community and to foster stronger connections between the Charlottesville and University communities for the benefit of both.
For example, we have:
* Engaged hundreds of UVa students in dialogue about local issues through presentations and discussions with over 25 classes, student organizations, "flash seminars," etc.
* Co-taught an undergraduate course this Spring on social entrepreneurship, with a focus on identifying innovative, market-oriented strategies for combatting poverty in Charlottesville.
* Provided hands-on support in the development of over 10 new projects that aim to apply University intellectual resources toward solving local problems. (Most recent example: assisting two UVa students who wish to collaborate with the City of Charlottesville to design new tools for better utilizing technology to gauge public opinion and solicit public input on local issues.) Thanks to a grant from the Virginia Community Development Corporation, Institute staff are now working in-depth to advance three more such collaborations, focused specifically on housing and community development challenges in Charlottesville.
* Designed a series of issue forums that will be launching inSpring Fall 2013, which will serve to bring University faculty and students together with Charlottesville community members to explore local needs and encourage deeper town-gown connections. The series, entitled "Small City, Big Challenges," will be hosted at OpenGrounds at UVa, where Institute staff have been holding office hours this Fall. (UCARE has already signed on as a financial sponsor for these forums, and we are currently seeking additional sponsors -- if you or your business or organization might be interested, please contact us at cvilleinstitute@gmail.com for more info.)
* Created an outline for a new public service fellowship program that would enlist 10-20 UVa students in year-long public policy or civic engagement projects under the guidance of community mentors. If we are able to raise sufficient funds for this program, we hope to get it underway in Fall of 2013.
This is just a sampling of the work we have done in 2012 to bring learning alive, in service to our community.
And people are taking notice. More and more, Institute staff are being invited to consult and advise faculty or students not just at UVa, but at other institutions of learning in the area as well. Community colleges, high schools, even middle and elementary schools -- everywhere you turn in Charlottesville, people are seeking ways to make connections, to broaden their horizons, to make better the life of this community. And they are increasingly seeking the assistance of The Charlottesville Institute to help make that happen.
We want to be there for them, but that will depend largely on...well, you. If we are to maintain and build upon the momentum we've created in 2012, we need your help.
The Charlottesville Institute relies on donations from individuals like you to cover most of our (very modest) operating expenses. Without such support, we will not be able to continue our valuable work. Will you consider making a year-end donation to The Charlottesville Institute?
Giving is easy -- simply go to www.tinyurl.com/supportTCI to make a quick and secure on-line donation via PayPal or bank or credit card, or send a check to "The Charlottesville Institute," 632 Stonehenge Ave., Charlottesville, VA 22902.
Whether it's $10 or $100 or $1,000 or more, all donations will be formally acknowledged and deeply appreciated. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at cvilleinstitute@gmail.com or (434) 242-5165.
Thanks much for your consideration. We are excited about the Institute's potential!
Best wishes to you and yours, and here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2013 for us all.
Dave Norris
Executive Director
This time last year, The Charlottesville Institute was just a concept, premised on the notion that the Charlottesville community doesn't do nearly enough to take advantage of the tremendous intellectual resources at the University of Virginia to help us address local challenges and make life better for our residents.
In January of 2012, the Institute officially launched. Upon hearing of our mission to invite, inspire and facilitate greater participation by UVa faculty and students in local public policy and civic engagement initiatives, the editorial board of the The Daily Progress praised the Institute as a "smart use of the University's bright minds...with the potential to affect Charlottesville in a major way."
It has been a busy first year. And we have only begun to realize the significant impact that an organization like The Charlottesville Institute can make.
The University of Virginia, as an institution, is widely perceived to be detached from the city that surrounds it. As we are learning through the Community Listening Project that we kicked off in May, many local residents feel a real sense of disconnect from the University and do not believe that UVa does enough to engage in positive and mutually beneficial ways with the community. (There are notable exceptions -- e.g., Madison House.)
Interestingly, what we have found through our work at the Institute this year is that many UVa faculty and students wholeheartedly agree with these perceptions, and earnestly wish to overcome them. They are eager to find creative and innovative ways of applying what they're teaching and learning in a real-world context, which will both enrich their academic experience and benefit the Charlottesville community. Everyone wins.
This is where The Charlottesville Institute can play, and has already begun to play, a valuable role.
During 2012, staff from The Charlottesville Institute have undertaken a number of initiatives to bring local issues to the attention of the University community and to foster stronger connections between the Charlottesville and University communities for the benefit of both.
For example, we have:
* Engaged hundreds of UVa students in dialogue about local issues through presentations and discussions with over 25 classes, student organizations, "flash seminars," etc.
* Co-taught an undergraduate course this Spring on social entrepreneurship, with a focus on identifying innovative, market-oriented strategies for combatting poverty in Charlottesville.
* Provided hands-on support in the development of over 10 new projects that aim to apply University intellectual resources toward solving local problems. (Most recent example: assisting two UVa students who wish to collaborate with the City of Charlottesville to design new tools for better utilizing technology to gauge public opinion and solicit public input on local issues.) Thanks to a grant from the Virginia Community Development Corporation, Institute staff are now working in-depth to advance three more such collaborations, focused specifically on housing and community development challenges in Charlottesville.
* Designed a series of issue forums that will be launching in
* Created an outline for a new public service fellowship program that would enlist 10-20 UVa students in year-long public policy or civic engagement projects under the guidance of community mentors. If we are able to raise sufficient funds for this program, we hope to get it underway in Fall of 2013.
This is just a sampling of the work we have done in 2012 to bring learning alive, in service to our community.
And people are taking notice. More and more, Institute staff are being invited to consult and advise faculty or students not just at UVa, but at other institutions of learning in the area as well. Community colleges, high schools, even middle and elementary schools -- everywhere you turn in Charlottesville, people are seeking ways to make connections, to broaden their horizons, to make better the life of this community. And they are increasingly seeking the assistance of The Charlottesville Institute to help make that happen.
We want to be there for them, but that will depend largely on...well, you. If we are to maintain and build upon the momentum we've created in 2012, we need your help.
The Charlottesville Institute relies on donations from individuals like you to cover most of our (very modest) operating expenses. Without such support, we will not be able to continue our valuable work. Will you consider making a year-end donation to The Charlottesville Institute?
Giving is easy -- simply go to www.tinyurl.com/supportTCI to make a quick and secure on-line donation via PayPal or bank or credit card, or send a check to "The Charlottesville Institute," 632 Stonehenge Ave., Charlottesville, VA 22902.
Whether it's $10 or $100 or $1,000 or more, all donations will be formally acknowledged and deeply appreciated. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at cvilleinstitute@gmail.com or (434) 242-5165.
Thanks much for your consideration. We are excited about the Institute's potential!
Best wishes to you and yours, and here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2013 for us all.
Dave Norris
Executive Director
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Win a Chance to See the Dalai Lama!
As part of our Fall 2012 Fundraising Blitz, The Charlottesville Institute is raffling off a ticket to the Dalai Lama's speaking engagement at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion on Oct. 11 at 12:30pm. (For more info. about the event, please click here.) It is an Upper Orchestra ticket, center section, with a retail value of $75.00.
For every $10.00 you donate to The Charlottesville Institute between September 20-26, your name will be entered once in the raffle drawing, to be held on Sept. 27. So, if you donate $50.00, you have 5 chances to win, $100.00 gets you 10 chances, and so on. There will be a maximum of 400 "tickets" sold for this raffle and they are all available on a first-come, first-served basis -- so act now!
To make a donation to the Institute, either send a check to: The Charlottesville Institute, 632 Stonehenge Ave., Charlottesville, VA 22902; or, donate on-line via Virginia Organizing with a credit card, debit card or PayPal account at http://tinyurl.com/cvilleinstitute -- be sure to designate "Charlottesville Institute" where prompted on the third page. [9/24/12 update: since your check won't arrive by 9/27, best to donate on-line at this point.]
All proceeds from this raffle will benefit the Institute's efforts to improve our community by inviting and encouraging greater involvement by students and faculty in local public policy and civic engagement projects.
Thanks for supporting the work of The Charlottesville Institute...and good luck!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Engage UVa through "EngageUVA"!
EngageUVa is an excellent resource for anyone in the Charlottesville community to learn about activities, events, speakers, workshops, "flash seminars," etc. that are taking place on-grounds and might be of interest to students, faculty members, staff, or community residents alike. Each week, EngageUVa sends out an e-mail newsletter featuring many such events, and most of them are free and open to the public. (Here's the current listing.) The Charlottesville Institute and OpenGrounds will be co-sponsoring a series of lunchtime and evening forums on local issues this school year and the primary vehicle for advertising those forums, for example, will be EngageUVa. So don't miss out! It takes less than 10 seconds to subscribe, just click here.
Charlottesville Institute Office Hours @ OpenGrounds
Starting this Thursday, Sept. 13, Dave Norris of The Charlottesville Institute (http://cvilleinstitute.blogspot.com) will hold regular office hours at the OpenGrounds Corner Studio (1400 W. Main St.) from 2-4pm each Monday and Thursday. If you are a UVa student or faculty member who is involved in a course, a student group, an independent study project, etc., that includes (or could include) some community engagement component, Dave is available to meet with you to brainstorm ideas for effectively connecting with the Charlottesville community and applying what you are learning or teaching in the real-world context of the University's own backyard. Just drop by OpenGrounds during those hours or, if you are not available during those times, contact Dave at (434) 242-5165 or cvilledave@gmail.com to arrange another time to meet.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Exciting News from The Charlottesville Institute - Fall 2012 Edition
The Charlottesville Institute has been busy gearing up for the new school year, and we have some exciting updates to share.
* Starting this semester, The Charlottesville Institute will partner with OpenGrounds at UVa to bring local issues and local civic engagement opportunities to the attention of UVa students and faculty. OpenGrounds (http://opengrounds.virginia.edu) is a new initiative designed to promote innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration at the University. From the outset, it has been OpenGrounds' intention to use its dynamic, multi-media Corner Studio space and its other resources and networks to promote greater University-community collaboration as well. The Charlottesville Institute will play a key role in helping to accomplish this important goal, by co-hosting informational and deliberative forums at OpenGrounds on a variety of local topics throughout the year. In addition, Dave Norris, Executive Director of The Charlottesville Institute, will hold regular office hours at OpenGrounds to serve as a free, hands-on resource for any UVa student or faculty member who is seeking out creative opportunities for engaging with the Charlottesville community. This new partnership will help bring some of the best minds from across the University to bear on some of the toughest challenges we face here in our community; stay tuned for more info.
* Over the summer, The Charlottesville Institute applied for and received our very first grant! The Virginia Community Development Corporation (http://www.vacdc.org) awarded an $8,000 special initiatives grant to help the Institute engage more University students and faculty in local housing and community development-related projects. This school year, the Institute will be working with several Charlottesville-area nonprofits to identify, develop and facilitate creative University-community collaborations around some of the most critical unmet housing needs of our community. This grant is also helping to kickstart our Fall 2012 Fundraising Blitz -- see below. Many thanks to VCDC for its support!
* After co-teaching a course at UVa on social entrepreneurship and poverty in Charlottesville in the Spring 2012 semester, Dave Norris has been asked to serve on the Advisory Board for Student Entrepreneurs for Economic Development, the student group that is doing pioneering work to advance the cause of social entrepreneurship and sustainable development on grounds. SEED is increasingly looking to engage its student members in locally-focused social entrepreneurship projects and The Charlottesville Institute looks forward to assisting in that effort. During the Fall 2012 semester, Norris will continue working with students in the classroom setting by serving as a Guest Lecturer for at least two public policy-oriented courses at the Curry School of Education and by co-developing a new community-engagement course at Curry that will be proposed for the Spring of 2013.
* The Charlottesville Institute has welcomed three new UVa student interns for the 2012-13 school year who will be working on the above initiatives and other Institute projects. It's heartening to see bright, energetic students like these step forward to help us accomplish our mission. We look forward to introducing our new interns to you in the days and weeks ahead.
* While the Institute's current focus is solely on inviting and encouraging more UVa involvement in local civic engagement and public policy projects, on a long-term basis the Institute is considering ways we might broaden that focus. Potentially the Institute could serve as a resource not just for University of Virginia faculty or students who want to apply what they are teaching or learning in a local context, but also for faculty or students from other institutions of secondary or higher education in the Charlottesville area (e.g. Piedmont Virginia Community College, local public and private high schools, etc.). Already, Institute staff have been asked to consult with a couple of area schools on this subject, and it is surely to our community's benefit to take better advantage of the rich array of intellectual resources found at all of these institutions, not just at UVa. To start laying the groundwork for this potential change, we are today unveiling a new tagline/mission statement for The Charlottesville Institute. Formerly, it was: "Harnessing the Intellectual Resources of the University of Virginia for the Betterment of the Charlottesville Community." Not only was that phrasing UVa-specific, it was also, frankly, a little dry. From here forth, our motto will be: "Bringing Learning Alive, in Service to Our Community." We hope you like it!
* Now, here's the catch - and it's a vitally important one. In order for The Charlottesville Institute to successfully follow through on all of the above projects, commitments and opportunities, we need to generate more financial support from individual, corporate and community donors. The Institute does not receive a penny of operating support from UVa nor does it receive any local, state or federal government funding. We rely completely on the generosity of private donors to cover our modest budget. To sustain our programming and operations through the current semester and beyond, we are today launching a Fall 2012 Fundraising Blitz in hopes of raising at least $20,000 in very short order. Thanks to the grant we just received from the Virginia Community Development Corporation, we are already $8,000 of the way toward that goal. We now need your support to bring in at least $12,000 more. Will you consider making a (tax-deductible) donation to help us achieve this goal? If so, please click here. Any contribution you can make would be most welcome. Thank you!
* Starting this semester, The Charlottesville Institute will partner with OpenGrounds at UVa to bring local issues and local civic engagement opportunities to the attention of UVa students and faculty. OpenGrounds (http://opengrounds.virginia.edu) is a new initiative designed to promote innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration at the University. From the outset, it has been OpenGrounds' intention to use its dynamic, multi-media Corner Studio space and its other resources and networks to promote greater University-community collaboration as well. The Charlottesville Institute will play a key role in helping to accomplish this important goal, by co-hosting informational and deliberative forums at OpenGrounds on a variety of local topics throughout the year. In addition, Dave Norris, Executive Director of The Charlottesville Institute, will hold regular office hours at OpenGrounds to serve as a free, hands-on resource for any UVa student or faculty member who is seeking out creative opportunities for engaging with the Charlottesville community. This new partnership will help bring some of the best minds from across the University to bear on some of the toughest challenges we face here in our community; stay tuned for more info.
* Over the summer, The Charlottesville Institute applied for and received our very first grant! The Virginia Community Development Corporation (http://www.vacdc.org) awarded an $8,000 special initiatives grant to help the Institute engage more University students and faculty in local housing and community development-related projects. This school year, the Institute will be working with several Charlottesville-area nonprofits to identify, develop and facilitate creative University-community collaborations around some of the most critical unmet housing needs of our community. This grant is also helping to kickstart our Fall 2012 Fundraising Blitz -- see below. Many thanks to VCDC for its support!* After co-teaching a course at UVa on social entrepreneurship and poverty in Charlottesville in the Spring 2012 semester, Dave Norris has been asked to serve on the Advisory Board for Student Entrepreneurs for Economic Development, the student group that is doing pioneering work to advance the cause of social entrepreneurship and sustainable development on grounds. SEED is increasingly looking to engage its student members in locally-focused social entrepreneurship projects and The Charlottesville Institute looks forward to assisting in that effort. During the Fall 2012 semester, Norris will continue working with students in the classroom setting by serving as a Guest Lecturer for at least two public policy-oriented courses at the Curry School of Education and by co-developing a new community-engagement course at Curry that will be proposed for the Spring of 2013.* The Charlottesville Institute has welcomed three new UVa student interns for the 2012-13 school year who will be working on the above initiatives and other Institute projects. It's heartening to see bright, energetic students like these step forward to help us accomplish our mission. We look forward to introducing our new interns to you in the days and weeks ahead.
* While the Institute's current focus is solely on inviting and encouraging more UVa involvement in local civic engagement and public policy projects, on a long-term basis the Institute is considering ways we might broaden that focus. Potentially the Institute could serve as a resource not just for University of Virginia faculty or students who want to apply what they are teaching or learning in a local context, but also for faculty or students from other institutions of secondary or higher education in the Charlottesville area (e.g. Piedmont Virginia Community College, local public and private high schools, etc.). Already, Institute staff have been asked to consult with a couple of area schools on this subject, and it is surely to our community's benefit to take better advantage of the rich array of intellectual resources found at all of these institutions, not just at UVa. To start laying the groundwork for this potential change, we are today unveiling a new tagline/mission statement for The Charlottesville Institute. Formerly, it was: "Harnessing the Intellectual Resources of the University of Virginia for the Betterment of the Charlottesville Community." Not only was that phrasing UVa-specific, it was also, frankly, a little dry. From here forth, our motto will be: "Bringing Learning Alive, in Service to Our Community." We hope you like it!
* Now, here's the catch - and it's a vitally important one. In order for The Charlottesville Institute to successfully follow through on all of the above projects, commitments and opportunities, we need to generate more financial support from individual, corporate and community donors. The Institute does not receive a penny of operating support from UVa nor does it receive any local, state or federal government funding. We rely completely on the generosity of private donors to cover our modest budget. To sustain our programming and operations through the current semester and beyond, we are today launching a Fall 2012 Fundraising Blitz in hopes of raising at least $20,000 in very short order. Thanks to the grant we just received from the Virginia Community Development Corporation, we are already $8,000 of the way toward that goal. We now need your support to bring in at least $12,000 more. Will you consider making a (tax-deductible) donation to help us achieve this goal? If so, please click here. Any contribution you can make would be most welcome. Thank you!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Front-Page News!
The social entrepreneurship class co-taught in the Spring 2012 semester by Dave Norris of The Charlottesville Institute and Lauren Purnell of the Darden School of Business is featured on the front page of UVa's website today. Check it out!
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