By Nancy Ferber
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.” —Albert Einstein
As fall semester 2013 is wrapping up, we are pleased to share an update on our partnership with North St. Paul. We focus here on numbers to help illustrate the breadth and impacts of our partnership for the community, students, faculty, and the University of Minnesota. Here are some quick stats that reflect what RCP has been up to over the past few months:
- In Fall 2013, we worked on 14 projects in North St. Paul, drawing on student and faculty expertise in 20 courses.
- These courses provided opportunities for engagement in real-world sustainability projects for students in 10 departments located in eight colleges across the University of Minnesota, including a project with students from the Duluth campus.
- These courses engaged 199 students and 11 faculty in direct and collaborative community engagement.
Even a quick look at the projects and courses listed on our website suggests the wide disciplinary and topical coverage of our work. From graphic design students working on community branding to environmental policy students working on green energy, students were able to engage with priority community issues and gain valuable experience that complemented their coursework.
We’ve also been busy outside of the classroom. Over the past few months, RCP staff have attended conferences, trainings, and workshops and have presented to national audiences, including at the following conferences: Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education conference in Nashville, Imagining America conference in Syracuse, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Administrators’ conference in Columbus.. Additional local venues include the Upper Midwest Planning Conference, Sensible Land Use Coalition, Regional Council of Mayors staff group, and Housing Collaborative Institute. The media has covered our partnership four times in fall 2013.