ABout CESP

Since its inception in July 2022, the Office of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships has taken on multiple projects designed to connect the University to our community.

We’ve led a successful Employee Charitable Giving Campaign raising over $91K, developed Pillars of Community Engagement that are aligned with our strategic plan, and created working committees to carry out the mission of CESP.

One such committee is our Community Connections Committee, where representatives from each college share information about enrichment programs and documentation to support both our Carnegie Community Engagement designation and our Innovative and Economic Prosperity designation (IEP).

We are working closely with the Boys and Girls Club of Toledo and the Girl Scouts of Northwest Ohio on student-centered programmatic efforts and mentoring initiatives. In partnership with The Office of Student Involvement & Leadership (OSIL) and the Sesquicentennial committee, we planned events for 419 Day.

The office of CESP began hosting Transformational Community Conversations (TCC). These quarterly focus groups for business owners, leaders of non-profit agencies, and community leaders discuss supplier diversity, reciprocal support, and how the university can support the long-term business and education needs of our community.

Finally, a joint campus and community Advisory Board was created to lead collaborative partnership efforts and discuss issues pertinent issues facing our joint communities.

Eight Pillars

Data Collection

Create a repository for university-wide data allocated to CESP

Focused and Strategic Communication

Initiate focused campus-wide communication to share the CESP narrative through newsletter, social media, and other sources.

Sustain Classifications

(Carnegie Foundation and Innovation and Economic Prosperity)

Develop and implement working plans for compliance with previously established deadlines for Carnegie Foundation and Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) university program

Academic Engagement/Research

Support academic initiatives via pipeline, mentoring, tutoring programs and supplemental educational programs.

Signature Partnerships

Develop and/or sustain internal and external collaborations with key community stakeholders (i.e., Jeep, Toledo Public Schools, RGP)

Engaged Health Care Initiatives

Support and assist in the generation of Univerity of Toledo Medical Center programs, which benefit the campus and surrounding communities.

Collaborative Engagement Efforts with Athletics and Center for Alumni and Donor Engagement

United Way campaign communication
Rocket Week initiatives

Forward Thinking: Incubator, Innovation and Technology

Support a fully inclusive incubator model
Partner with diversity, equity and inclusion to increase supplier diversity
Strategic communication on UToledo’s innovation and technology