INTERNAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Center consists of three divisions: Research and Evaluation, Curricular Initiatives, and Community Initiatives, all supervised by the Administrative Leadership Group.

Administrative Leadership Group

• The Executive Director is responsible for fundraising, program and project development, and general direction of the Center.

• The Deputy Director oversees the Division of Community Initiatives and the Center as a whole in the absence of the Executive Director.

• The Director of Research oversees the Research and Evaluation Division and coordinates the research activities of the Center including the research activities of the graduate assistants.

• The Director of the Curricular Initiatives Division directs the Center for the Advancement of Service Learning, the Community Development Leadership Program, and similar initiatives.

• The Budget Analyst and Administrative Assistant carry out the usual duties associated with such positions.

The Administrative Leadership Group provides the direction and administrative support for the operation of CUP, and directly runs certain community development projects.

Research and Evaluation Division

The Research and Evaluation Division of CUP conducts original, applied, and community-based research, trains student research apprentices, provides consulting and evaluation services to community-based organizations and local agencies, maintains a working papers series in community development, coordinates the work of CUP Faculty Fellows, and interacts with CUP program directors regularly to meet their research needs. The unit is headed by a full-time research director, and includes faculty members drawn from the departments of economics, political science, philosophy, education, sociology/anthropology, nursing, mathematics, social work, and business. Graduate students, who work as research associates, are drawn from the departments/schools of economics, political science, history, psychology, communications, civil engineering, nursing, education, social work, and architecture.

Program Units:
Divisions of Community Initiatives and Curricular Initiatives

There are six program units, three in the Community Initiatives Division and three in the Curricular Initiatives Division. The director of each program unit is responsible for securing funds for the program through grant writing, managing the program activities and funds, evaluating the program, and submitting periodic progress reports, as required, to relevant funding agencies. Each director is assisted by either full-time employees or part-time student workers depending on the nature of the work.

- Community Initiatives Division

The Community Initiatives Division of CUP consists of three program units—the Workforce Development Training Program, the Community Technology Center, and the D.C. - Small Business Development Center at CUP. The diversity of activities stemming from these programs allows CUP to provide well-rounded community development support. CUP serves students through its after-school community technology training programs; it brings the unemployed from disadvantaged communities to CUP and trains them to become valuable members of the society by strengthening their employability; it helps the employed and the under-employed upgrade their skills and find better jobs in these technology driven times; it helps small businesses sustain themselves and grow; and it engages in community revitalization through direct participation in restoring vacant and boarded houses and public buildings to the community. These activities touch the lives of men, women, and children alike and provide them with services to which they may not otherwise have access. The community presence that CUP has established over this period of time is invaluable in assisting the University in fulfilling its community development agenda.

- Curricula Initiatives Division

The Curricular Initiatives Division of CUP consists of three programs—the Center for the Advancement of Service Learning, the Community Development Leadership Program, and the Community Development Work Study Program. Through these programs, CUP has taken a leading role in developing a curriculum in community development for undergraduates and in urban economics for the graduate students. It is our belief that students who are introduced to community-based issues early in their pursuit of degrees at the University are more likely to commit themselves to community engagement later in their lives. It is with this objective that CUP promotes a variety of activities that bring together students and communities. CUP promotes service-learning among students, places undergraduate interns at community development corporations, encourages volunteering, and promotes community development work-study programs at the graduate levels.