The traumatic death of her best friend drove Christine Goggins to a career in social work. Now, as a Violence Recovery Specialist at UChicago Medicine, Goggins helps victims of intentional violence make a comprehensive recovery.
As executive director of The MAAFA Redemption Project, Marshall Hatch Jr. creates the space for young men in West Garfield Park to reimagine themselves as leaders and change agents in their community. The UChicago Social Service Administration and UChicago Divinity School grad says the elders of New Mount Pilgrim Church-Chicago gave him identity and purpose to understand that his life’s work should be to invest in young people just as they invested in him. As a fellow in UChicago Harris School of Public Policy’s Civic Leadership Academy, Marshall was challenged to think critically about his leadership and the way the city functions.
At the beginning of the pandemic, with campus dining halls empty, UChicago decided to use its dining infrastructure to create a 10-week program to bolster food security on Chicago’s South Side. In partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, City of Chicago, and local Aldermen, the University will prepare and distribute 225K meals through mid-June. Thanks to Mayor Lightfoot for your support of UChicago’s Community Support Initiative and your tireless work on behalf of Chicago residents.
Tammera L. Holmes, founder and CEO of AeroStar Avion Institute, shares how the Community Programs Accelerator put her organization on a path to achieve its mission of creating an aviation talent pipeline for Black and Brown youth and females.
For decades, University of Chicago has partnered with Chicago Public Schools, drawing on resources across the university to help local K-12 students reach their full potential. In this video, CPS CEO Janice Jackson reflects on why this partnership is so unique.
Juan Carlos Ocon, Principal at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen, is one of 300 local educators working with UChicago SSA’s Network for College Success initiative. Learn how research, real-time data and coaching have contributed to the school’s success.
New to startup life, Sobitan needed support as he worked to launch the app, and found it at the Polsky Exchange, a coworking space and startup hub on 53rd Street in Hyde Park operated by UChicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “I was elated to find something like Polsky on the South Side,” Sobitan said. “Nothing against other incubators, but you want to be in your community.”
The University of Chicago helps small businesses like Chatham-based Inter-City Supply build their capacity to take on more and bigger contracts from the University and other customers. CEO Jackie Dyess shares how a key UChicago Medicine leader’s decision to support her company led to her participation in two key University programs, top-tier connections with other institutions, a steady stream of new contracts, and within five years, 30% more revenue and 50% more staff.
Every time Camille McKenzie and her daughter pass a construction site, the five-year-old says, “That’s where Mommy works!” “She’s proud of her mom,” says McKenzie, a laborer from South Shore working for Turner Construction Chicago on the Rubenstein Forum building at 60th and Woodlawn. She appreciates the University of Chicago's insistence that contractors make it a priority to hire Chicago residents, particularly those who live in the neighborhoods closest to campus.
At UChicago, our commitment to building strong, productive partnerships with our neighbors is shared across the whole university. Every division and school across our university is engaged with our community, in ways large and small. We work to deepen our connections with our neighbors and build new partnerships that will benefit all of us, here on the South Side and throughout Chicago.
Click below to learn more about how the University of Chicago is partnering for community impact and how you can tap in to the programs and initiatives we offer.
