Reflections on Teaching and Learning Through Community Partnerships

The current economic crisis provides an opportunity for urban universities, through faculty focused on issues related to public policy, administration, and community development to re-think and reshape their relationships with city governments. Creative partnerships among universities, city agencies, and community organizations can leverage the strengths of all three to (1) identify and articulate community-defined needs and priorities, (2) systematically identify and map community resources, (3) provide students with service learning and field research opportunities, and (4) help neighborhoods and community organizations weather the economic downturn and emerge even stronger. Though urban universities have a long history of working with community organizations and city agencies, leveraging the power of all three into one partnership is not common. The City of San Francisco and San Francisco State University are working to create such a partnership, which will include a diverse array of neighborhood groups as well as area universities. This paper reports on the process of that partnership development, reflects on the implementation and sustainability challenges this model may face, and shares some recent experiences in teaching and learning in this partnership environment. If professional productivity remains based on scholarship, teaching, and service, this model may provide one way for university faculty to meet those competing demands.