October 29
Contact: Teresa Hendrix
(805) 756-7266
Ray Ladd
(805) 756-7432
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Launch New Community Development Program
SAN LUIS OBISPO - Building healthy communities free of crime, drugs,
hunger, poverty and other urban ills is the topic of "Community
Development in the New Century," a statewide conference Nov. 14-16 at
Cal Poly.
The conference is intended to offer a look at the state of the art of
community development planning in the United States, and also to help
the university create a new Community Development program.
The three-day conference will feature workshops led by national experts
and keynote addresses from three nationally known leaders: Paul
Orfalea, founder of Kinko's and the Orfalea Family Foundation; Ed
Blakely, dean of the Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and
Urban Policy at New York's New School University; and Wim Wiewel, dean
of the University of Illinois College of Business.
The university has invited more than 700 city and county government
officials and representatives from nonprofit agencies, social service
groups and communities across California to participate in the free
conference.
"The mission of the conference is to define a role for Cal Poly in the
very dynamic field of community development and to put together a
feasible program of teaching, service and applied research," explained
Cal Poly City and Regional Planning Professor Richard Lee, who is
coordinating the conference along with Economics Professor Dan Villegas.
"We want to bring the energy and talents of Cal Poly's diverse students
to communities in need," explained Lee. "There are many courses and
student projects at Cal Poly that involve community development and
community groups. These courses and projects would all benefit directly
from closer ties to community development organizations."
The new Community Development program will be a joint venture of the
College of Architecture and Environmental Design and the Orfalea
College
of Business. The university would like community participation to help
establish the new program, both Lee and Villegas emphasized.
The university plans to collaborate with the private sector, including
for-profit and nonprofit institutions, in setting up the new Community
Development program. "That collaboration and the partnership between
Cal Poly's colleges of architecture and business will support Cal
Poly's hands-on, learn-by-doing approach to community development,"
said Villegas. "We expect the new Community Development program to help
provide assistance and leadership for community organizations on the
Central Coast and across California."
Plans call for the new program to concentrate on economic development
and planning, job creation, affordable housing, "family- friendly"
organizational practices, environmental sustainability, community and
social infrastructure, and the role of nonprofit organizations and
social entrepreneurship in healthy communities.
While Cal Poly officials are seeking input from those who attend the
conference, the university is also offering workshops detailing the
latest innovations in successful community development.
More than 20 experts and community development leaders from across
California and the nation will present a series of workshops over the
course of the conference. The workshops will be held in the College of
Architecture and Environmental Design Gallery, Room 105 on the first
floor of the Architecture and Environmental Design Building.
The university is organizing the conference workshops around six
topics: social entrepreneurship and financial capital; development of a
community's human capital; family and household issues; housing and
housing services; development of a community's physical capital; and
university-community development partnerships.
During the Nov. 14-16 conference, the university will:
· Explore "state-of-the-art" practice in community development;
· Look at changes occurring in community development, particularly
as they relate to California;
· Explore the possibilities for university-community partnerships;
· Learn about the interests and funding priorities of
organizations involved in community development; and
· Establish the context for Cal Poly to engage in community
development education, applied research and assistance.
For reservations for the "Community Development in the New Century"
conference at Cal Poly, contact the university at (805) 856-1315 or
(805) 756-2809.
For more details on the conference, conference schedule, or new
Community Development program, contact Lee at (805) 756-2573 or
Villegas at (805) 756-1767, or visit the Community Development
conference Web page at www.calpoly.edu/~crp/comdev.html.
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(NOTE TO EDITORS: Faculty members to contact about the new Community
Development Program or the "Community Development in the New Century"
conference are: Professor Richard Lee at (805) 756-2573 or
rwlee@calpoly.edu or Professor Dan Villegas at (805) 756-1767 or
dvillega@calpoly.edu. For background information on the conference
speakers, contact Teresa Hendrix at (805) 756-7266 or
thendrix@calpoly.edu, or Ray Ladd at (805) 756-7432 or
rladd@calpoly.edu.