The 天美影视传媒 has begun a yearlong partnership with the City of Auburn, under the new program. UW students and professors will work with the City of Auburn to advance the city’s goals for livability and sustainability throughout the upcoming academic year.
In this inaugural year, UW faculty will lead classes to work on 15 to 20 projects identified by the City of Auburn. Students will provide tens of thousands of hours of study and production toward specific projects identified by Auburn, while benefiting from the opportunity to apply classroom lessons to real-world problems.
鈥淭his partnership represents the very best kind of UW student experience by creating opportunities for community engagement, practical problem-solving and interdisciplinary study,鈥� said 天美影视传媒 President Ana Mari Cauce. 鈥淭he UW could not be prouder to partner with the City of Auburn through the Livable City Year program to combine education with making positive change in a Washington community.鈥�
The Auburn City Council voted unanimously Aug. 29 to enter into an agreement with the UW for the program.
The UW’s Livable City Year program is a cross-university collaboration led by faculty directors Branden Born, an associate professor in the , and Jennifer Otten, an assistant professor in the , in collaboration with and with foundational support from , the and , as well as from the聽non-profit organization聽, which works with cities and their partners around the state. The program connects local governments with UW classes to address community-identified areas of need. The coordinated, cross-discipline approach provides the local partners with a new option to enhance sustainability and livability elements within existing and future projects and programs.
鈥淚 think the most powerful thing about Livable City Year is that it allows UW to connect with communities throughout the state using this field-tested and mutually beneficial model,鈥� said program manager Jennifer Davison, who also manages Urban@UW. 鈥淭his partnership with Auburn will be fully supported every step of the way by the program, from project identification and connection with faculty and courses, to student experience and final delivery of meaningful work to the city. It鈥檚 really exciting to see it coming together.”
Auburn’s government and administration were early champions of the program, and the city’s willingness and preparedness to take on this opportunity helped move the program forward from an idea to a reality.
鈥淲e are incredibly honored and excited to be partnering with the 天美影视传媒 on these projects and to be part of this ground breaking year for the program,” Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus said.
鈥淭his program is an incredible example of what higher education can do for our community,” said Auburn Deputy Mayor Largo Wales. “Not only does this give students a unique hands-on learning opportunity, it provides the city with the opportunity to complete valuable projects that we would not have been able to otherwise.鈥�
Livable City Year is based on the University of Oregon鈥檚 and is a member of the .
鈥淏y聽connecting many courses over one academic year to projects that address the partner聽city鈥檚 specific goals, Livable City Year can have broad impacts that are difficult for faculty to聽achieve on their own,鈥� Born said.聽鈥淟ivable City Year gives faculty across many disciplines a chance to work together in a fully collaborative UW effort.”
As part of the Livable City Year process, Auburn directors and staff identified almost 50 different possible projects for consideration. UW faculty will select 15 to 20 of these projects as subjects for classes in a variety of disciplines. Students will work on the projects in conjunction with Auburn staff for a meaningful end result. Projects were identified over a wide range of topics, such as public works, innovation and technology, urban planning and more.
鈥淭his program provides students with an opportunity to tackle meaningful and challenging real-world problems,鈥� Otten said. “Projects addressed in these UW class and city collaborations directly affect the health and well-being of the city鈥檚 population. Students will gain an introduction to the civic process and get an opportunity to become better engaged with local communities.鈥�
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For more information, contact Born at聽bborn@uw.edu听辞谤听206-543-4975; Davison at聽jnfrdvsn@uw.edu听辞谤听206-240-6903; and Jenna Leonard, Auburn’s climate and sustainability practice leader, at聽jleonard@auburnwa.gov听辞谤听253-804-5092.
Marc Schlossberg, co-director of the University of Oregon’s Sustainable Cities Initiative, is available to talk about this similar program:聽schlossb@uoregon.edu听辞谤听541-346-2046.
The Livable City Year program will hold a kickoff event highlighting the projects UW students will be working on during the fall quarter on Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. in the聽w菨色菨b蕯altx史 鈥� Intellectual House at the 天美影视传媒.