What We Do

The Egan Urban Center is a DePaul University Center. Our broad focus is community development through community/university partnerships. Specifically, we teach, do research and evaluations, and initiate programs that impact community development policy and practice.

We broker resources for community-based development efforts and provide university scholars, staff and students with opportunities for meaningful community involvement. We accomplish this all by responding to community direction on all our efforts. Center staff members live, work, and participate in community life. We translate this community perspective and knowledge into valuable and relevant university/community collaborations by bringing community and institutional players together to plan and execute mutually beneficial projects.

The Egan Center staff maintains relationships with faculty and other scholars. DePaul University has made student service learning a part of our system and a graduation requirement. Faculty connected to the Egan Center design and teach service learning courses and the Egan Center works with faculty and the Office of Community-based Service Learning to identify mutually beneficial opportunities for students to work in the community alongside residents. We develop and participate in a wide variety of partnerships. Sometimes we simply provide resources or assess initiatives managed by community organizations. We provide computer equipment, staff training, and Internet connections to youth groups, job training organizations, development organizations, and coalitions of community-based organizations (CBO’s) in the Humboldt Park community. We keep the community and the academy aware of all our efforts by publishing articles, books, and newsletters for national and local dissemination.

• Urban Leadership Training Institute
• Community/University Collaboration Workshop

2. Research

• Faculty Research Initiatives
• National Empowerment Zone Action Research Project
• Community Need Assessments

3. Program Evaluations

• Formative/Summative Program Evaluation
• Empowerment Evaluation Seminar

4. Community Service

• Forge University/Community Partnerships
• Community Meeting Space
• Hosting, Convening, Event Planning
• Group Facilitation and Advocacy
• Community Forums, Workshops, Seminars and Conferences
• Public Policy Development and Dissemination