Welcome

It is indeed a pleasure and a privilege to introduce you to Urban and Community Studies at the University of Connecticut. Urban and Community Studies (UCS) is a dynamic program, which engages undergraduate students and faculty in the study and improvement of our cities and communities.I am new in this exciting and challenging position, but Urban Studies has a long history at UCONN.

It started in 1974 and reached its heyday a decade later. Now the program is taking off again, due to changes in the major. First, the program has been expanded to the Tri-Campus regional sites (at Greater Hartford, Waterbury, and Torrington) as well as continuing at Storrs. Second, we renamed the program Urban and Community Studies in order to reflect an expanded perspective and emphasis on community more in tune not only with student and faculty interests but also contemporary needs and concerns.

I am proud to report that we have created at the Greater Hartford and Waterbury sites an attractive and practical, student-centered, interdisciplinary B.A. program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The regional campuses offer students an intellectually dynamic education with small classes and close working relations between students, faculty, and staff. Moreover, the regional campuses provide opportunity for students interested in Urban and Community Studies to participate in an applied and engaged learning experience. This applied dimension not only gets students out into the community, it helps to fulfill the University’s land grant mission to the State of Connecticut by studying urban and community needs and concerns; engaging with them directly through course work, service learning and internships; and contributing to the improvement of urban life and community formation. Moreover, UCS has a first-rate faculty who are committed to undergraduate and graduate education, applied and interdisciplinary scholarship, and civic engagement. For example, during 2002 and 2003 of our 10 core faculty at the Tri-Campus, four published new books on community-based non-profits, housing discrimination, community-based health care, and faith among the elderly.

Because we are meeting a need at both the Tri-Campus and Storrs of students interested in a liberal arts education focused on urban issues and social change, and of students interested in careers in public and community service, we have grown remarkably, both in numbers of student majoring in UCS and the number of students enrolled in our classes. We have also begun to establish a presence in the communities we serve as a new and dynamic representative of the University of Connecticut. Our goal is to become the center for UConn education and initiatives on urban issues and a critical site for UConn initiatives in civic engagement. We are excited by the potential of UCS -- what it has to offer students and faculty as well as the communities we serve - and we welcome your interest in our program.