Community Engagement Footsteps at MSU

Community Engagement Footsteps in Academic Courses, Internships/Service learning, Civic/Community Service at Morgan State University

Morgan State University continues to do a tremendous amount of work resulting in varied and lasting types of community engagement locally and beyond. This document summarizes some of these engagements by (faculty, staff, and students) as they seek to deepen MSU’s footprints of empowerment as an anchor institution. Following are some recent, and ongoing examples of community engagement footsteps at Morgan:

Recent 

• Three professors from three schools at Morgan, Architecture and Planning (AT+P), the School of Community Health and Policy, and the School of Education and Urban Studies) collaborated and conducted a course “Intro to Urban Design, ARCH 302, at the studio in Central Parks Heights.” In addition, the Park Heights Renaissance (PHR) facilitated a Mobile Think Tank and three community engagement meetings to integrate service-learning into four courses in architecture and planning.
• While taking Course INSS 370, student teams in the School of Business and Management conducted projects with local organizations to help with a systems need/problem. This was a one-year project in which various organizations in Baltimore (Johns Hopkins University Activity and Mobility Promotion (JH-AMP) Medical Center, Bithgroup Technologies, Delmock Technologies, Baltimore City Chamber of Commerce, Park Heights Renaissance, Baltimore City Youthworks, Crumbs Ventures, and Baltimore City Business Process Improvement Services) partnered. This experience resulted in some students interning in the organization, and later becoming employees.
• Town Hall Meetings on topics such as “How to Reduce Larceny,” “Larceny for Auto” “Auto Thefts and Other Petty Thefts,” were held at the League for People with Disabilities, an organization within the Morgan Community Mile (MCM). 

• Morgan Community Mile coordinates community engagement for the Center Urban Health Equity (CUHE) and connects with city officials and organizations on matters for the public good.

• The School of Community Health and Policy in partnership with Emergency Empowerment Block by Block, a West Baltimore organization, created announcements on emergency preparedness for the community.

• Students in a Morgan Undergraduate Chemistry Help (MUCH) Program in the Department of Chemistry, visited local elementary schools for 45 minutes at a time, to lead grades 3-5 in age-appropriate chemistry experiments. The goals were to increase interest in science and for Morgan’s students to be good role models for the children.
• The School of Social Work collaborated with the Baltimore City Council in “Healing City Baltimore,” which led to a symposium on the topic “Youth Voices Speak about Trauma and Healing in Baltimore City.” This event underscored the signing of the Healing City Act and efforts of the late Elijah Cummins to make Baltimore “the Healing City.” Three hundred Baltimore youth attended the symposium.
• Morgan Community Mile assisted Hamilton Lauraville in funding opportunities for its Main Street and other community projects.
• Faculty and students in the School of Architecture and Planning’s Landscape Architecture Program provided education associated with the principles and practices related to the Chesapeake Bay’s ecology, restoration and protection, and to implementing the Clear Creeks Projects.
• A School of  Social Work faculty collaborated with Safe Streets and Project Hope (a small grassroot organization) to provide mental health, vocational, employment advocacy and re-assimilation, and transitioning support for citizens returning from incarceration to the community. 
• The Landscape Architecture Department engaged a team of students to work with the Baltimore City Planning Department to develop a Hillen Rd. Corridor Revitalization Plan with the Hillen Road Improvement Association. Several NeighborSpace projects were designed and implemented by students in Morgan’s Landscape Architecture Program, (including Adelaide Bentley Park- Historic Towson, Powhatan Park- Woodlawn, and Graystone Community Association Park- Gwynn Oak). All of these projects were completed and are actively used by community members.
• A School of Social Work faculty collaborated with ZHAP (Zeta Healthy Aging Partnerships) to support their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A Wednesday City Wide Conference Call provided weekly telephone sessions with featured speakers, inspirational messages and partner-updates that engaged and kept older adults knowledgeable of information relevant to Baltimore city. 

Ongoing 

Morgan’s undergraduate students perform direct and indirect service as part of their coursework for the College of Liberal Arts Core Option #4 Service-Learning Experience. This is done in partnership with the Art with a HEART Program, and the Baltimore Clayworks organization which are seeking to bring arts programming to underserved communities throughout Baltimore City and County. 

• Each semester, seniors in the School of Global Journalism & Communication intern with nonprofits in the area to work in public relations and social media. 
• Each semester, undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Social Work intern with approximately 200 organizations in Maryland and DC. They provide services in areas such as school social work, public health social work, gerontology, urban children, youth, and families, and addictions.
• Each semester, students in the Nursing Program in the School of Community Health and Policy intern with community organizations in Maryland and DC.
• Students in the Department of Religious Studies in the College of Liberal Arts intern with community partners who work on issues such as water and housing justice, food justice, and income security. Partners in this venture include Jews College of Liberal Arts, United for Justice, the Black Church Food Security Network, Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development ( BUILD), Turnaround Tuesday, Jobs Movement, and the Fowler Museum.  CSRC secured four paid internships. One at the Baltimore Museum of Art and three at the Fowler Museum. 
• The Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics (CEMSE) in the School of Education and Urban Studies partners with the National Aquarium’s Living Laboratory on the  “What Lives in the Harbor Program.” This laboratory exposes youth in Baltimore City to knowledge of the aquatic world in the Inner Harbor. Students in two courses namely, ELED 476 and ELED 478 also intern at the Aquarium's Living Laboratory. 
• The Internship Program in the Department of Psychology at Morgan partners with approximately twenty agencies in the Baltimore area to provide mental health and mentoring services. 
• A faculty member in the School of Business and Management was a member of the NAACP Planning Committee that presented a lecture series addressing COVID-19, voter registration and incarceration.
• Faculty members in the School of Education, the College of Liberal Arts’ Department of English Language Arts, and the Archivist at Morgan’s Earl Richardson Library are prominent Board Members of The Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group. This 501(c)(3) nonprofit legacy group promotes health equity, by holding discussions aimed at keeping issues of ethics in clinical research alive in communities.
• A faculty member in Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies, the School of Engineering serves as the MSU representative on the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance E-Board. The E-Board is tasked with helping to guide policies that improve and expand transportation options for the citizens and businesses of Central Maryland.
• The assistant vice president for student affairs at Morgan serves on the Executive Board of the Y of Central Maryland.
• A faculty member in the School of Architecture and Planning sits on the Board of Directors of NeighborSpace Baltimore County. This member works with local communities in the creation of community parks and open space, protecting nearby open space and improving it to treat stormwater, buffering of streams, providing recreational opportunities, and raising the value of neighborhood properties. 
• Morgan’s School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (SCMNS) co-organized a Maryland Science Olympiad Baltimore City Regional Tournament with three hundred middle school students from more than twenty-five schools. The overall objective of the Science Olympiad is to enhance the quality of K-12 science education.  

• The National Transportation Center, in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr School of Engineering hosts the Summer Transportation Institute and the Summer Transportation Teacher Institute yearly. These events expose middle school students and teachers to the field of transportation.
• The Clara I Adams Honors College partners with Walter P. Carter Elementary/Middle School’s Heart to Heart Program, to prepare meals for Moveable Feast. The Maryland Food Bank is also one of its partners.
• The University Chapel works with the Salvation Army’s Feed My Sheep Outreach, and serves people who are homeless. It also provides annual support for the Jackie Burley Memorial Thanksgiving Dinner.
• Morgan State University is a voter friendly campus with an intentional focus that encourages the student population to use the political process, register to vote, and vote. The Student Government Association engages in initiatives with the NAACP and Black Girls Vote.
• Scholar athletes and Morgan’s athletics staff engage with the community during the Baltimore Running Festival, and Loving Arms link. They also participate in the District 7 and District 11 clean-ups.
• Summer Programs for K-12: Morgan State University offers summer engagement programs for K-12 graders. These programs include equipping students to create e-commerce businesses; Outreach institutes aimed at increasing minorities in specific careers; attending entrepreneurship summer camps, sports camp; A residential program to raise students’ interest in accounting and finance; Curricula activities aligned to the National STEM Standards; Curricula to improve English, history, reading, mathematics, and biology; Pre college preparation in Actuarial and Mathematical Sciences (SAAMS); an Upward Bound Summer Academy that gears up students for future academic courses; Field trips; and Partnerships with businesses to work on community problems relevant to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• For over a decade, faculty in the Earl G. Graves School of Business & Management’s Department of Accounting and Finance, offered free tax services to qualifying citizens of Baltimore through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. This service facilitates refunds for the community as well as saves community participants thousands of taxpayer dollars in fees. Close to 300 preparations are made yearly. An Entrepreneurial Development and Assistance Center (EDAC) also provides entrepreneurial education to start-up businesses in the community. Organizations receiving services include specialty programs for women, Black fathers, veteran entrepreneurs, youth ages 10-18, and Baltimorians with a history of incarceration seeking to reenter the workforce. 
• The School of Community Health and Policy, through Community-Aligned Research Solutions (MORGAN CARES) has a community engagement arm that is part of a larger funded research grant aimed at addressing community health disparities in underserved communities in Baltimore City. Following are two examples from Morgan CARES:

-A Community Awards Program that provides small seed funding initiatives to community-based groups, grassroots organizations, and local non-profits. Faculty from throughout the university consult with organizations in this community-led public health initiative.
-A Smoke-Free Environment Program (Digital CEASE) in Baltimore, focuses on smoking “Cessation by Engaging Barbers” (SCEB). In collaboration with B’more for Healthy Babies, the initiative trained eleven barbers from five barber shops in ZIP codes 21201, 21215 and 21217, in the city’s Upton/Druid Heights neighborhood. Its purpose is  “to educate, encourage, and support individuals to choose a smoke-free lifestyle.”

• Morgan’s School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (SCMNS) co-organized a Maryland Science Olympiad Baltimore City Regional Tournament with three hundred middle school students from more than twenty-five schools. The overall objective of the Science Olympiad is to enhance the quality of K-12 science education.
  
• The National Transportation Center, in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr School of Engineering hosts the Summer Transportation Institute and the Summer Transportation Teacher Institute yearly. These events expose middle school students and teachers to the field of transportation.
  
• The Clara I Adams Honors College partners with Walter P. Carter Elementary/Middle School’s Heart to Heart Program, to prepare meals for Moveable Feast. The Maryland Food Bank is also one of its partners.
  
• The University Chapel works with the Salvation Army’s Feed My Sheep Outreach, and serves people who are homeless. It also provides annual support for the Jackie Burley Memorial Thanksgiving Dinner.
  
• Morgan State University is a voter friendly campus with an intentional focus that encourages the student population to use the political process, register to vote, and vote. The Student Government Association engages in initiatives with the NAACP and Black Girls Vote.
  
• Scholar athletes and Morgan’s athletics staff engage with the community during the Baltimore Running Festival, and Loving Arms link. They also participate in the District 7 and District 11 clean-ups.
  
• Summer Programs for K-12: Morgan State University offers summer engagement programs for K-12 graders. These programs include equipping students to create e-commerce businesses; Outreach institutes aimed at increasing minorities in specific careers; attending entrepreneurship summer camps, sports camp; A residential program to raise students’ interest in accounting and finance; Curricula activities aligned to the National STEM Standards; Curricula to improve English, history, reading, mathematics, and biology; Pre college preparation in Actuarial and Mathematical Sciences (SAAMS); an Upward Bound Summer Academy that gears up students for future academic courses; Field trips; and Partnerships with businesses to work on community problems relevant to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  Community Boards/Nonprofits
  A faculty member in the School of Business and Management was a member of the NAACP Planning Committee that presented a lecture series addressing COVID-19, voter registration and incarceration.
  Faculty members in the School of Education, the College of Liberal Arts’ Department of English Language Arts, and the Archivist at Morgan’s Earl Richardson Library are prominent Board Members of The Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group. This 501(c)(3) nonprofit legacy group promotes health equity, by holding discussions aimed at keeping issues of ethics in clinical research alive in communities.
  A faculty member in Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies, the School of Engineering serves as the MSU representative on the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance E-Board. The E-Board is tasked with helping to guide policies that improve and expand transportation options for the citizens and businesses of Central Maryland.
  The assistant vice president for student affairs at Morgan serves on the Executive Board of the Y of Central Maryland.
  A faculty member in the School of Architecture and Planning sits on the Board of Directors of NeighborSpace Baltimore County. This member works with local communities in the creation of community parks and open space, protecting nearby open space and improving it to treat stormwater, buffering of streams, providing recreational opportunities, and raising the value of neighborhood properties.

Community Boards/Nonprofits 

• A faculty member in the School of Business and Management was a member of the NAACP Planning Committee that presented a lecture series addressing COVID-19, voter registration and incarceration.
• Faculty members in the School of Education, the College of Liberal Arts’ Department of English Language Arts, and the Archivist at Morgan’s Earl Richardson Library are prominent Board Members of The Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group. This 501(c)(3) nonprofit legacy group promotes health equity, by holding discussions aimed at keeping issues of ethics in clinical research alive in communities.
• A faculty member in Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies, the School of Engineering serves as the MSU representative on the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance E-Board. The E-Board is tasked with helping to guide policies that improve and expand transportation options for the citizens and businesses of Central Maryland.
• The assistant vice president for student affairs at Morgan serves on the Executive Board of the Y of Central Maryland.
• A faculty member in the School of Architecture and Planning sits on the Board of Directors of NeighborSpace Baltimore County. This member works with local communities in the creation of community parks and open space, protecting nearby open space and improving it to treat stormwater, buffering of streams, providing recreational opportunities, and raising the value of neighborhood properties. 

Summary

Whether it is through community engagement tied to academic courses, internships/service learning, civic/community service, nonprofits, summer programs for K-12, or serving on a board, we are proud of our community service footsteps. We hope that by sharing many of the community engagement highlights from the last several years (many of which are continuing), we can inspire you to join us in increasing our community engagement footsteps as we continue to make a positive change in Baltimore City and beyond. 

Please See MSU Websites of Schools, Centers, Offices and Groups for more community engagements at Morgan State University, including community engagements related to Federal and State funded grants. (Footprints Summarized by Dr. Annette Woodroffe based on a MSU Inventory conducted by Morgan’s OCS. Inventory requested by Dr. Anna McPhatter, Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement.)