University of Pittsburgh: A “University of the Community"

University of Pittsburgh: A “University of the Community”

HUD USER publishes examples of anchor institutions’ Case Studies in communities and regions across the country. The most recent example details University of Pittsburgh’s Community Outreach Partnership Center’s (COPC) targeted investments in social programming and residential capacity building in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

As a focal point for university sponsored activities in Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods, the COPC collaborated with community groups to address challenges relating to education, health and wellness, workforce development, and housing. The positive outcomes achieved by Pitt’s COPC led to the formation of the Neighborhood Partnership Program, an effort to continue investments in activities that spur redevelopment in the neighborhoods surrounding the university. In recent years, community outreach and collaboration have become institutionalized in Pitt’s academic and administrative structure. Several of Pitt’s departments now consider regular engagement with community groups a priority, leading Pitt to consider itself a “university of the community.”

Visit HUD USER’s Case Studies Resource page to learn more about the University of Pittsburgh’s work in the Oakland neighborhood and to view other promising examples of how communities and regions across the nation are supporting neighborhood revitalization.