Education plays a powerful role in sparking social change. But its influence is limited when a vision for diversity, equity and inclusion is shared only on campus.
So Oregon State is making sure its vision goes farther. The new Social Impact Lab is a collaboration with community organizations, local governments, business and industry partners in the mid-Willamette Valley.
“The vision behind the Social Impact Lab is to create actively engaged partners willing to leverage all of our talents toward a greater social good,” says Allison Davis-White Eyes, director of community diversity relations at Oregon State.
In February, the Office of Institutional Diversity, in partnership with the United Way, hosted more than 120 people, including faculty and community members from Benton, Linn and Lincoln counties. Their purpose was to advance community engagement through an equity lens, which emphasizes fairness and making sure all people get access to the same opportunities.
The event featured TED-style talks highlighting the unique partnerships Oregon State has in the threecounty area, followed by roundtable discussions where participants talked about what partnerships they would like to see the university pursue and where there is room to grow.
“We received excellent feedback and data,” Davis-White Eyes says.
Already, the qualitative data produced has been used to advance Oregon State’s Carnegie Reclassification, the framework for classifying colleges and universities for educational and research purposes. Oregon State is the only university in Oregon to have earned both Carnegie Classifications for Highest Research Activity and Community Engagement.
The United Way has been a key stakeholder so far, aligning its strategic planning to leverage its partnership with Oregon State. Other community organizations involved include the Corvallis/Albany branch of the NAACP, the Multicultural Literacy Center, Hewlett Packard Global Diversity and Inclusion, as well as representatives of county governments.
On campus, the Engaged Scholarship Cluster, sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and University Outreach and Engagement, is a partner. Additionally, several academic, research and outreach units are involved, including the College of Public Health and Human Sciences and Oregon Sea Grant. Participants will continue to meet in smaller groups to identify shared goals, find opportunities to work together and share talent between organizations.
Because the work of advancing equity may start on campus. But it doesn’t end here.