Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships

The University of Toledo-Community Partnership Advisory Board supports the strategic objectives of the university’s administration and academic units by building beneficial partnerships and positive relationships with key community-based organizations and activities. A prime mission point of the Advisory Board is to facilitate on-going dialogue between the university and our surrounding communities regarding key issues which UToledo could help address.

The Office of Community Engagement is the annual organizational host for UToledo’ s Employee Charitable Giving Campaign. Working in conjunction with the United Way of Greater Toledo, CHC (Creating Healthier Communities), Community Shares of Northwest Ohio, and EarthShare Ohio, CESP’s UToledo campaign strives to initiate positive goal-reaching outcomes each year by hosting a series of events over several months’ duration. The 2022 campaign earned the distinction of “Best in Show” from the United Way of Greater Toledo, and CESP has set its sights on even more record-breaking outcomes for 2023-2024. The theme for 2023-2024 is “One Heart. One Life. One Step.”

Each year, the College of Engineering hosts the Introduce a Girl to Engineering program. Hands-on activities are designed and led by area company leaders, student organizations, and faculty and staff within multiple UToledo colleges to introduce engineering/STEM topics, disciplines, and general theory to middle-school female student participants. Additionally, women engineers at various leadership levels within multiple engineering disciplines provide motivation, clarification, and general information about engineering and the skills and traits necessary to be successful in the field.

The University of Toledo recently completed a four-year Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) grant funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). As part of this grant, and in partnership with the Mental Health & Recovery Services Board of Lucas County, along with ProMedica, UToledo offered both Adult and Youth MHFA training courses to over 900 individuals. UToledo acted as the primary project coordinator for in-person and virtual trainings offered to university students, faculty and staff. Classes were also offered to community partners including Owens Corning, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, United Way, SSOE, and Toledo Public Schools. Rocket Health and University Wellness Services are planning program continuation as the need for mental health education continues to rise.

Walgreens continues to be a great strategic partner with UToledo. Each year, they provide a minimum of two scholarships to our students, and they continue to utilize our pharmacy students for internships that likely translate to employment for our UToledo graduates. Such employment opportunities include community pharmacists, cosmetic scientists, forensic scientists, research chemists, clinical pharmacists, drug developers, and more. The UToledo/Walgreens partnership continues to provide ongoing support for our community.

Pharmacy residents and UTMC pharmacists are partnered with the Community Care Clinic. Their role in the clinic is to provide education to patients regarding their chronic diseases and provide recommendations to providers and students to optimize patient care. Typically, two or three pharmacy students and a pharmacist attend the clinic weekly to provide these services.

The University of Toledo/TOCHI Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program engages in education that approaches problems across profound social boundaries to create opportunities for people, both inside and outside of prison, to collaborate in addressing crime, justice, and other areas of social concern. The program is part of an international effort to deliver higher educational opportunities into carceral institutions of all levels, while breaking down the barriers and stigma that exist on both sides of the wall.

A team of UTMC nurses and physicians traveled to Poland in early 2023 to teach Advance Trauma Life Support classes. The classes were designed to assist healthcare workers and Ukrainian doctors in the management of serious injuries on the battlefield during the current war. Injury triage, rapid assessment of patient conditions, pediatric care, and other applicable medical interventions were covered.

Thirty members from a UToledo Medical Center team kicked off a Community Engagement project in partnership with the Islamic Food Bank in December 2022 to aid efforts against child food insecurity. With an initial goal of 350 bags, the exceeded expectations by building 706 Weekender Food Bags! The bags were distributed to schoolchildren over the holidays to ensure that families had well-stocked pantries. UTMC and UToledo were very thankful and appreciative to all participant’s efforts.

The Young Executive Scholars (Y.ES.) program was established in 2017 to cultivate the academic potential of under-represented students to help prepare them for success in higher education. The program is a collaboration between UToledo’ s John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation and the Jones Leadership Academy of Business. The most recent endeavor featured the accounting firm Gilmore Jasion Mahler (GJM). The Y.E.S. students visited and learned about the firm, while also exploring career paths in the accounting field, and investigative problem solving.

Graduate nursing students enrolled in NURS 500: Population Focused Nursing are required to complete a teaching project within the community setting where they complete clinical rotations. This project is a way of “giving back” to a clinical site the provides teaching projects for the populations they serve. Recently six graduate nursing students completed a project at Toledo Public Schools’ Jessup ScottHigh School that focused on accessible healthcare and family planning services. This outstanding community engagement project was so successful that the Jessup High School principal shared the initiative with other TPS high school administrators; the project has now been implemented as all high schools within the Toledo Public School District.

The Womxn of Color Symposium, is an annual event through collaborative efforts with the UToledo Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the Division of Student Affairs, the College of Medicine and Life Sciences, the Office of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships (CESP), the College of Arts and Letters, department of Women’s and Gender Studies, and the Africana Studies Program. The “x” creates a space for women and femme individuals who aren’t cis women, meaning it tells people that ALL women-identifying people are include and welcome. A primary purpose of the symposium it to empower womxn of color through access to information, personal and professional development, peer networking, and mentoring opportunities.

For over 20 years, area high school students in grades 9-12 have been invited to the UToledo campus to participate in one of the largest gatherings of Latino youth in Ohio. Hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the focus is to demonstrate pride in the Latino culture and introduce Latino students to the many opportunities UToledo can offer.

The winds of change have been blowing in Rocket Nation. Rocket sports teams excelled in 2022-2023, with a multitude of record-breaking seasons, both on and off the fields. Bryan Blair, VP for Athletics, Alton Tomlinson, Deputy Director of Athletics, and Tony Belt, Associate Athletic Director who focuses on the academic success of our athletes, have all contributed to the culture change and captivating positive energy in Athletics. Under the direction of Blair, all athletic staff members are also involved in clean-up and beautification projects throughout our Toledo communities.