University-Community Partnerships: Addressing Problems of Children and Youth through Institutional Collaboration

Abstract

The University of Illinois has formed collaborative institutional partnerships with four Chicago communities to address problems of children and youth. These partnerships, in the Nation of Tomorrow Project, bring multiple community Institutions that interact in the lives of children together with academic and professional units of the university to enhance the community institutions' capacity to support children's learning and development. The project poses important institutional challenges to the university as It develops new working relationships among its own units and with community institutions.