UA's Neighborhood Revitalization Program Receives $400,000 in Federal Funding

Akron, Ohio, Nov. 4, 2004 The University of Akron's proposal for its Community Outreach Partnership Center program was one of three in the nation that received the maximum funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of University Partnerships.

The $400,000 HUD grant to the University will be used to help to transform neighborhoods surrounding the university's campus through a program directed by the University Park Alliance. The HUD grant will be used to develop housing and revitalize neighborhoods, to promote economic development and to further educational opportunities in Akron's University Park area.

HUD provides the highly competitive 3-year grants of up to $400,000 to encourage and recognize institutions of higher education that work in partnership with their communities.

This grant award acknowledges and supports our engagement with our neighborhood partners in improving University Park, says Dr. Luis M. Proenza, president of The University of Akron. It is a wonderful affirmation of our commitment to help to revitalize downtown Akron.

Plans for The University of Akron's Community Outreach Partnership Center program include coordinating the efforts of 36 UA faculty and staff members from 28 academic departments and offices with 13 neighborhood groups and faith-based organizations. UA's students, faculty and staff members will work with those organizations during the next three years on 20 activities in housing and economic development, neighborhood revitalization and education.

The activities include

* Providing housing assistance and affordable home construction in cooperation with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together;

* Increasing efforts to create, attract, retain and expand businesses;

* Developing community-building events such as a Neighborhood Arts Festival; and

* Expanding educational programs, including the creation of a family literacy center within the district.

This significant funding commitment from the federal government gives us the means to move to the next level of our plans for University Park, says Ken Stapleton, director of the University Park Alliance. This greatly supports the efforts of our university and community partners who are working to make a real difference in the neighborhood.

The University's ambitious program to revitalize the University Park district, a 40-block mixed-use neighborhood that surrounds its campus, was started in 2001 with a $2.5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.