Chicago and Community Engagement
Civic and community engagement are at the heart of UIC. As a university created for and by the people of Chicago and Illinois, we have learned from and been transformed by the rich diversity of our surrounding communities and their people, and we embrace our mission to transform lives.
Embrace Community: Heading link
UIC can build upon a rich history of successful community engagement. We will continue to expand the meaning of engagement by striving for equitable, transparent, and reciprocal relationships. We will develop new collaborations between the University and communities in Chicago and regions throughout the state for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources to create opportunities for the engagement of students at all levels. We will collect and measure the impact of community engagement, listen to our partners, conduct needs assessments and broadly communicate our results. We will exceed the criteria for the highest Carnegie classification for university community engagement. We will strive to be the most engaged public university in the nation by creating incentives both internally and in Illinois’ communities to support wider access to education.
Create Partnerships: Heading link
The University can benefit significantly from new collaborations with state and city agencies, as well as the business, cultural, and arts communities in Chicago and throughout the state. We will pursue opportunities to increase engagement with the state and the city and to inform public policy and economic development through our research and scholarly work. We will extend our collaborations with and increase our presence in the Chicago Public Schools and the City Colleges of Chicago. We will explore the creation of joint academic, research and creative achievement programs with the top cultural and art institutions in Chicago. We will develop new partnerships with the business community to facilitate faculty research and student placement for internships and professional positions.
Expand Care: Heading link
UIC is committed to continuing to provide top quality health care to all, regardless of socioeconomic status. We will promote greater alignment of the health science colleges with the UI health care delivery system to better address the needs of the communities UIC serves and increase research in the health sciences. We will expand our clinical care delivery network to more areas and create new collaborations with safety net hospitals and clinics throughout Chicago to support their operations.