Graduate Center for Social and Public
Policy
Duquesne's Graduate Center for Social and Public
Policy proposes to staff Uptown Community Action
Group with a Peace Corps Community Development
Fellow, who will serve as Development Coordinator,
supporting the community's efforts in housing
development, commercial revitalization, beautification,
and public safety. Though ten years old, Uptown
Community Action Group first engaged a (part-time)
staff member only last fall (fall of 1999) to
assist the members and officers to achieve their
many significant goals and objectives. This was
made possible by a grant from the city's Advisory
Commission on Community-based Organizations. Because
of the relationship of trust that had developed
with Duquesne, Uptown turned to Duquesne to fill
the position, resulting in a close to ideal situation
for both parties.
Eric Wiesen, a Peace Corps Community Development
Fellow from the Policy Center, with significant
community development experience from his work
in Ghana, filled the position. Because he was
on Duquesne's payroll, Uptown saved costs and
an administrative burden, and had additional funds
remaining to use to hire consultants for specialized
assignments. In addition, because Duquesne paid
Eric, problems of access to the funds from the
city (the contract was delayed for weeks) did
not delay Uptown from getting started on the work
they wanted their new staff person to undertake.
Eric worked under the direction of Dr. Evan
Stoddard, acting in his capacity of the Policy
Center's Associate Director for Community Outreach.
Dr. Stoddard established the relationship with
Uptown, then met weekly with Eric throughout the
year to assist and guide him in his work in the
community.
Eric accomplished wonders in his eight months
with Uptown. He began working on a marketing strategy
for the new housing units being built in Uptown
(the first in decades), staffed the design study
for the important Pride Street intersections that
the Business Committee is using as a model to
set a pattern for improving the appearance of
the entire business district, made preparations
for and staffed the annual town meeting, published
two issues of the newsletter and a new brochure
on the Uptown Community Action Group, helped develop
new bylaws for the organization that would establish
a board of directors, marketed Street Face to
businesses, worked to relocate the Community-oriented
Police station, wrote the successful grant application
to PublicArtPittsburgh that will help beautify
the neighborhood, and did much more.
The community loved Eric, and are sad to lose
him when he finishes school this term. In the
interim, Dr. Stoddard is providing Uptown with
assistance over the summer on critical projects,
such as helping to write the community's application
for participation in the city's Main Street program.
With Dr. Stoddard's matchmaking help, the president
of Uptown has already begun corresponding with
an incoming Peace Corps Fellow who is a prospective
Development Coordinator for this next school year.
Dr. Stoddard will continue to take responsibility
for this task.
Sequence of Tasks
The first task will be for Uptown and a Peace
Corps Community Development Fellow from Duquesne
to make a good match (which may already have happened).
One prospective Fellow has indicated a willingness
to come to Pittsburgh as early as July to begin
working for Uptown.
Early on, the Fellow will need an orientation
to Uptown, its needs, goals, and the projects
it is undertaking.
The Fellow will take his or her work plan from
the community's goals and objectives, with priorities
dictated by the community. Early action items
will include implementation of the PublicArtPittsburgh
project, marketing of the new townhomes, and implementation
of the Pride Street design study. The Fellow will
also play a role in supporting the GreenLots demonstration
in Uptown.
The Fellow will meet weekly with Dr. Stoddard
to discuss progress on work objectives and to
explore additional ways in which Duquesne and
Uptown can collaborate.
Products to be Developed and Impact Objectives
Among the objectives the project will complete
are marketing of the new townhomes, implementation
of the PublicArtPittsburgh project, implementation
of the Pride Street design study, and successful
completion of the GreenLots demonstration project.
Duplication and Appropriateness
Duquesne's role with Uptown Community Action
Group is unique because of their geographic relationship
and their history of collaboration. The relationship
speaks directly to the philosophy that underlies
the Community Outreach Partnership Centers Program,
which calls on universities to make resources
of knowledge and expertise available to help solve
community problems.
Contact: Dr.
Evan Stoddard, or call 396-5179
Project
History |
