N.C. A&T to Host Community and Economic Engagement Summit
Homecoming 2021 will present a new opportunity to put a purpose before the party begins. On Wednesday, October 27, the Office of Community Engagement will host the university’s first Community and Economic Engagement Summit. The day will be filled with dynamic keynote speakers, working sessions centered on entrepreneurship, and several breakout panel discussions. This year’s summit, with a theme of “Pathways to Economic Recovery,” will focus on strategies that inform participants about the connectivity between building personal wealth and building healthier sustainable communities.
Event Survey link:
https://bit.ly/Economic-Recovery-Survey
Register Here:
https://bit.ly/PathwaysSummitRegistration
Since our Carnegie Classification as a Community-Engaged University in 2015, N.C. A&T has focused on continuous improvement and has continued to find ways to structure community-engaged activities and partnerships. The idea of the first annual summit was initiated as a result of feedback from a small business focus group during the university’s recent pursuit of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) designation. During the self-study process associated with the APLU-IEP application, the university developed a definition of community engagement: the intentional collaboration between the university and its partners and stakeholders that yields mutually beneficial conversations, actions, and the exchange of resources. In addition, a definition of economic engagement was developed: meaningful, authentic, and mutually beneficial partnerships to leverage shared social and intellectual capital to advance equity in opportunity, access, and economic prosperity. These definitions support the university’s 130-year mission as a public and land-grant institution, as well as Preeminence 2023, which calls for the expansion of public service and community engagement, including economic development, partnerships with business and industry.
N.C. A&T is well-positioned to be an anchor institution for strengthening networks of people and organizations that will be necessary for the advancement of wealth-building strategies during a period of economic recovery. During the summit, several respected experts in their fields will share information and resources in interactive sessions with participants. This is an opportunity to build upon existing knowledge from any level of exposure or experience as a small business owner or community-engaged partner. In addition to workshops on entrepreneurship, registered participants can attend sessions that feature a number of relevant topics, including considerations for women-business owners; guidance for actualizing academic research to make community and economic impacts; a government roundtable discussion; information about federal and state certifications and contracting; inclusive and equitable entrepreneurship ecosystems; innovative wealth-building and community-capacity-building strategies; serving the needs of non-traditional, under-, and never-served communities; cybersecurity concerns; raising capital for your business; respect for diversity and equity in a post-pandemic society; and, agribusiness.
Questions regarding the first annual Community and Economic Engagement Summit may be directed to the Office for Community Engagement at (336) 285-3209.
