A new community outreach initiative,
College Town, UTA, is geared toward informing Arlington residents
and businesses on the recent and future developments of the school
and surrounding areas.
The “College Town, UTA, Web site, www.uta.edu/ucomm/collegetown, launched Monday by
the University Communications and will provide up-to-date
information to Arlington residents, including construction updates,
public events and partnership opportunities.
The school
developed College Town, UTA, to help revitalize downtown Arlington
into an area connecting the university with its residential and
commercial neighbors, according to a press release.
With
more than 28,000 students and 7,000 faculty and employees at the
university, the demand for community development has increased and
it’s important to have the surrounding community’s support, said Amy
Schultz, Communications associate vice president.
“This
initiative developed from people explaining to us that they didn’t
know what was going on at the school,” she said. “For some reason,
sometimes it seems like the people who are out of the loop are the
people closest to us geographically.”
In addition to the Web
site, a College Town, UTA, newsletter will be mailed biannually to
area residents, in fall and spring. More than 35,000 newsletters
were mailed and feature specific interest campus projects and
programs, like campus and public events for the university’s
neighbors.
The Web site is the first of its kind helping
create direct communication between the school and its closest
residents.
“We want to think of the Web site as a welcome mat
for our neighbors to the school,” Schultz said. “It’s important for
the school and its neighbors to have a strong relationship. When the
university profits, the city does as well.”
-John Harden |
The university launched a Web site
providing information about the its path to becoming a top research
institution.
The site
explains Tier One status, or nationally-recognized research
institution status. It also gives an overview of the university’s
research and status regarding Tier One.
Texas residents will
vote, Nov. 3, on a proposition to set up a National Research
University Fund. It would help Texas’ seven emerging research
institutions, including UTA, by setting up a pool of funds to aid in
reaching Tier One.
Four of six criteria would have to be met
to be eligible for funds. University spokesperson Kristin Sullivan
said the site is a way to educate voters about what Tier One status
is and where UTA is headed.
“People are talking about it
[Tier One],” she said. “We need people to be conversant and fluent
in the conversation about Tier One.”
Sullivan said the Web
site tab about current research is just a representative sampling of
what the university is working on.
-Joan
Khalaf |
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