Congruence with Campus and University Missions

The University’s mission is to serve the region and the state with education, research and service. CCDD is active in all of these areas and specializes in developing programs and projects that can address more than one at a time. In the service realm, CCDD is one of the most active and productive units on campus and within the University system. It has also won numerous accolades for its creative abilities to help communities around the state solve challenging problems. Its visibility and reputation also earn recognition for the campus.

CCDD’s activities help the campus realize all of its ten core values listed in its vision statement. Examples related to specific core values are noted below.

1. EXCELLENCE: “…focus on programs and services that we can offer at an exemplary level.”
   • CCDD has received numerous awards for its various projects and programs and is a leader in developing what Ernest Boyer has called the “scholarship of service.” In fact, CCDD goes farther by integrating service, education and research activities in ways that achieve excellence in all three realms. (See list of honors and awards in Appendices.)
2. STUDENT SUCCESS: “…encourage students to recognize their responsibility to participate fully in their own educational success and to contribute to the quality of campus life.”
   • Students who work with CCDD learn to take great responsibility for their own success in education and receive the support needed to succeed. Many manage projects, conduct research, author publications, and help solve community problems.
   • Students working with CCDD also help the campus solve problems and thereby contribute to the quality of campus life. Most recently, they helped CCDD analyze the needs and demand for student health care and childcare.
3. ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: “We will…provide a demonstrated return on investment to the citizens of Colorado. We will link the university more closely to the communities we serve. We will…communicate the value of the university to the citizens and elected leaders of our state…”
   • CCDD is one of the most productive vehicles of the campus and university for achieving these goals. Our programs and projects bring faculty, students and staff into communities across the state where we work directly with citizens, government staff and elected officials. By helping people and communities solve pressing problems, we demonstrate how useful the campus can be in practical, meaningful, and visible ways.
   • Wining the 1993 Governor’s Productivity Award and 1996 Smart Growth Award demonstrates that our work is noticed.
   • The visibility of CCDD in the University’s outreach brochures demonstrates that the President’s office recognizes the value created by CCDD.
4. ENRICHING ENVIRONMENT: “We will aggressively seek the development of a multicultural campus environment…”
   • CCDD has worked with minority community organizations and on issues relevant to minority members of the local community for nearly two decades. By showing that the University is willing to address issues such as racism, disproportionate minority youth arrest and confinement, minority dropout rates, teen pregnancy and neighborhood empowerment and redevelopment, we help attract minority students and supporters to the University.
   • Most recently, CCDD has helped the campus develop outreach connections for students and faculty through the Ethnic Minority Studies Program. A new course taught during the Fall Semester of 1997 called Ethnic Minority Communities: Service and Learning (EMST 366) placed students in ethnic minority community organizations and brought ethnic minority leaders to campus. The emphasis of EMST 366 is applying the theoretical knowledge of ethnic minority studies to the solution of practical problems experienced by minorities in the community.
5. QUALITY TEACHING: “We will demonstrate the highest regard for teaching excellence…[and] strive to maintain predominantly small classes…”
   • To maintain excellence in teaching, the campus needs to continuously innovate. CCDD has become a recognized leader in the field of service-learning. It’s new 3-year grant of $228,000 from the Colorado Campus Compact to establish the Campus and Community Institute Program (CCI) will help the campus expand these service-learning opportunities.
   • By creating small teams of faculty, staff, and students to address applied research problems, CCDD gives students unique opportunities to work closely with professionals in many fields in situations where they learn to apply and reinforce their developing knowledge and skills in meaningful ways.
6. RESEARCH AND CREATIVE WORK: “We will promote and reward research and creative work that advances knowledge, that makes a valuable contribution, that enhances our teaching and service missions, and that encourages collaboration between undergraduate and graduate students and faculty.”
   • In its many applied research activities, CCDD has provided over $300,000 in funding for faculty salaries and benefits, nearly $1 million for students, over $2 million for staff, and $800,000 for expenses to conduct research. The work completed has helped many community organizations solve problems and encourage citizen involvement. This work has been integrated with undergraduate and graduate teaching and service activities in many creative ways.
   • CCDD has produced 89 publications in its Community Development Monograph Series and has produced over 300 other products such as maps, videos, satellite broadcasts and reports.
7. SERVICE: “We will attract and reward members of the campus community who place a high value on service and who are committed to contributing their expertise to the university and the public good.”
   • CCDD is one of the major organizations that help the campus achieve this goal. The Center has raised almost all of the nearly $4 million that CCDD has spent to implement this goal over the past 16 years. It does it by making service to others our major focus. CCDD provides community members from around the state with a place they can call to find assistance and we create many opportunities for faculty, students and staff to get involved in community work. Over 61,000 community participants have worked with CCDD and many more have benefited from its work.
8. STAFF CONTRIBUTION: “We will value the vital role that staff play in supporting and enhancing the educational mission of the university.”
   • CCDD works with staff from many departments and recognizes their contributions to community projects. The Center has assisted with campus efforts to encourage improved internal service among departments by developing trainings for staff.
   • CCDD has raised over $2.1 million to support its own staff.
9. INNOVATION AND CHANGE: “We will encourage innovation in teaching, research and service and prepare our students to succeed in a rapidly changing global and technologically advancing environment.”
   • CCDD strives to understand the specific needs of each situation and creates unique solutions for every client. In the process the Center develops new methodologies and acquires the technology and skills needed to conduct service, teaching and research activities more effectively. By providing students with practical experiences, we prepare them for the many challenging problem-solving and community-building ventures that they face and will experience.
10. LIFE-LONG LEARNING: “We will commit to service our students…as they continue to learn and grow throughout their lives.”
    • Many students who have worked for CCDD have reported that their applied work with us was the most valuable part of their education at UCCS and that it prepared them to handle the many uncertainties of their careers and participation in community life.
    • The benefits to other units working with CCDD are numerous. Projects with clients such as the City of Colorado Springs, Teller County, Sugar City, Canon City School District and the Colorado Geological Survey help departments and colleges of faculty involved gain visibility. With this, they also gain repeat clients for research and contacts for the future professional development of staff. When community agency personnel have opportunities to meet and work with our faculty, the experiences are almost always positive. The benefits to faculty were detailed in a previous section.
    • Students from these same disciplines get not only unparalleled learning experiences, but also professional contacts that can help with future employment and publications (under their authorship) that demonstrate what they have learned by working with CCDD.

Learn about CCDD's role in our Total Learning Environment...