VCU news

By Brian McNeill

Virginia Commonwealth University faculty and staff working on community engagement will connect with community members and nonprofit leaders at VCU’s annual Connect Community Engagement Conference on Nov. 3.

The conference is an opportunity for VCU and the community to come together for a day of learning, networking and skill development to help university and community partners build more effective and mutually reciprocal community collaborations and partnerships. The conference is held annually to create a regular venue with the community to strengthen trust and advance mutual learning about one another’s needs and provide a space for creating new opportunities.

The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in University Student Commons (Richmond Salons I-IV), 907 Floyd Ave. Attendance is free, and lunch will be provided. To register, please visit here.

“To be an urban-serving university is to partner with our community,” said Shari Garmise, Ph.D., executive director of Collective Urban and Regional Impact, a program within the Inclusive Excellence unit of VCU’s Office of the Provost. “This conference provides an annual opportunity to build, enhance and align existing partnerships and build new ones to meet the needs and aspirations of our city, region and VCU communities. In response to community feedback, this year's program includes a number of activities designed to engage with each other, intentionally networking opportunities and sessions to learn from each other how to build effective, mutually beneficial and trust-based partnerships.”

This year’s conference will feature a keynote address by Sean Miller, president and CEO of The Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond. Sessions will include:

Fireside Chat: Gun Violence Prevention and Positive Youth Development

This partnership assists out-of-school program providers that support teen- and family-serving organizations for community-based activities and events. This initiative, in place since summer 2022, was established to promote youth development and prevent youth violence for Richmond city teens (ages 12-19) and their families.

Location, Location, Location

Neighborhoods have their own aspirations, histories and cultures, and many partnerships start or focus on work in a specific neighborhood or location. In this session, participants will learn how places function in our local and regional community partnerships.

Working together, working regionally

This session ties together the lessons of the day to ask how VCU and the community can better align their work to improve and expand their impact across partnerships, borders and boundaries.

In addition to the sessions, the conference will include hands-on skill-building and networking activities.

The conference is sponsored by Division of Community Engagement, part of the VCU Office of the Provost.

 For the full schedule or more information, please visit community.vcu.edu/events/connect-conference/.