Stakeholders laud students' tree research
HERO Fellows contribute 'valuable work' to state initiative
Clark collaborates with a variety of partners who, like us, believe that engaged scholarship paired with effective practice can create positive, lasting change.
Our fruitful partnerships have helped Clark earn a national reputation for transformational work in urban education. With community partners, we have taken effective steps to reduce youth violence, promote improved public health, and conduct essential research into economic growth and well-being in midsize cities. Alliances are at the heart of these endeavors and provide opportunities to blend scholarship with practice as we expand the impact of our research with the community.
University Park Partnership
Clark University has been a national leader in the development of successful university and community partnerships since 1985. Alongside the Main South Community Development Corporation, residents, local businesses, the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester, and faith-based intuitions, we have revitalized the neighborhood surrounding Clark and helped establish the city as a place in which young professionals want to live and work.
Clark Innovation School Initiative
Working with Clark’s Adam Institute for Urban Teaching and School Practice and Hiatt Center for Urban Education, four nearby partner schools have qualified as “Innovation Schools.” Made possible by a recent Massachusetts law, this designation allows these schools to act with greater autonomy to establish new structures and practices that will increase student achievement, with support from Clark.
Academic Health Collaborative of Worcester
Clark and the city of Worcester have collaborated to create the Academic Health Collaborative of Worcester. This partnership pairs students and faculty members with public health professionals to improve health outcomes in lower-income neighborhoods — for example, by conducting critical analyses of the commercial sex industry or examining patterns of opioid-related overdoses.
Clark Science-Math Teaching and Education Partnership
In 2013, the Adam Institute for Urban Teaching and School Practice, along with the departments of Mathematics and Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics were awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to recruit, prepare, and sustain teachers in the sciences and mathematics, with a focus on preparing them to teach in high-need schools.
Shannon Community Safety Initiative and Worcester ACTs
Clark researchers have partnered with the city of Worcester, Worcester Police Department, and Worcester Community Action Council to research and evaluate gang violence prevention and develop an intervention known as Worcester ACTs (Addresses Childhood Trauma). Generous funding from the Senator Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative supports this groundbreaking work, which serves as a national model for other cities to consider.
Community and Global Health Program
In 2017, Clark launched the Henry J. and Erna D. Leir Master of Health Science in Community and Global Health program, which requires that students not only gain a deep knowledge of community health issues, but also work hand-in-hand with stakeholders through partnerships with faculty members, students, community organizations, and affected populations.
Family Impact Seminar
Clark University’s Mosakowski Institute for Policy Enterprise has hosted the annual Massachusetts Family Impact Seminars at the Massachusetts State House since 2010. The 2018 event focused on research and policy approaches related to youth trauma, and engaged a broad swath of legislators, community members, staff members, and students.
Worcester Community Development Corporation (CDC) Initiative
Clark faculty members collaborated with the Mass Housing Partnership and Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation to plan a series of workshops targeted to Worcester CDCs. These sessions covered topics such as financial management and board development with the goal of improving performance, building confidence, and inspiring continued public investment in affordable housing projects.
Refugee Housing Internships and Research
In collaboration with Ascentria Care Alliance and the City of Worcester, this project aims to identify barriers to housing stability for refugees, determine the causes for these barriers, and develop recommendations for policy changes to address them. Clark students have taken the lead in developing a methodology, coordinating with Ascentria, and collecting and analyzing data.
