Announcing urbanCORE

Dear colleagues:

We are happy to share with you the University’s latest milestone in creating a structure to maximize our long-standing mission and commitment to addressing the cultural, economic, educational, environmental, health, and social needs of the greater Charlotte region. As part of North Carolina’s urban research university serving the state’s largest city, many of you have had and continue to have a role in this important work.

To achieve the charge of UNC Charlotte’s Strategic Plan to “co-produce transformative solutions to societal issues and challenges,” we are excited to announce the emergence of urbanCORE, which is now the hub of Charlotte’s engaged scholarship ecosystem. CORE is an acronym for Community-Oriented Research and Engagement. The newly reimagined urbanCORE office will mobilize, assess and advance efforts that connect the University’s interdisciplinary, urban research resources to community assets.

This reorganization comes in response to years of input from among our colleagues. It responds to the call in UNC Charlotte’s Civic Action Plan to “establish a centralized structure, with dedicated staff, to coordinate and support the University’s community engagement efforts and assess collective impact.” We believe urbanCORE provides the structure to support the Civic Action Plan’s charge to improve social outcomes by organizing University resources, community-based research efforts, and community collaborations.

UrbanCORE replaces the Office of Urban Research and Community Engagement, formerly called Metropolitan Studies. It houses several research and engagement functions, including the long-standing UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and its Institute for Social Capital, the Women+Girls Research Alliance and the Bonner Leaders Program. Its capacity recently was fortified with expertise from the staff of the Community Relations office, which was formerly located in the Division of University Advancement.

Drawing upon those assets and a highly skilled team, urbanCORE is organized to provide support across the University, in service to the community, through three core competencies:

1. Policy & Research by equipping campus and community stakeholders to access and apply relevant data to address critical issues and policies.
2. Strategic Community Partnerships, serving as a go-to connector for community-campus social impact engagement.
3. Faculty & Student Engagement, operating as a dynamic resource for helping scholars and learners navigate community-based action research and experiential learning.

We are excited to continue to work with many of you, and we invite others to join us to co-produce transformative solutions to societal issues and challenges to benefit our city, our region and our state.

To get connected, contact Greer Friedrich or visit urbancore.charlottewp.psapp.dev.

Sincerely,

Joan F. Lorden
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Byron White
Associate Provost for Urban Research and Community Engagement