Leadership Rochester calls campus home

Reaves

he nonprofit development program Leadership Rochester has moved to the University in an effort to expand its offerings with new ventures specifically for college students. Dean of Students Jody Asbury and Dean of the College William Scott Green invited Leadership Rochester to locate on campus and the group's board approved the move last fall.

"The presence of Leadership Rochester will broaden our campus-community relationships and provide for students a leadership training model that has been very successful," says Asbury.

Now in its 11th year, Leadership Rochester has trained almost 400 leaders in the greater Rochester community--from social workers and lawyers to newspaper editors and police officers. Its graduates compose a large network of community contacts for students.

"We've trained all these adults to promote positive change in the community," says Josanne Reaves, the program's executive director. "We can do the same for students."

A partnership among the University, Leadership Rochester, the Rochester Area Community Foundation, and the 19th Ward Community Association produced last summer's first team of Rochester Urban Fellows in city neighborhoods. Fellows worked for nonprofit groups and agencies in the southwestern and southeastern parts of the city four days a week. On the fifth day, students participated in workshops to increase their knowledge and awareness of issues facing urban areas.

In fall 2001, Reaves and Asbury refined the idea for a "civic engagement program"--a step beyond community service--where college students would meet regularly to learn the history and the contemporary needs of people in urban areas. The program is now in its second year with a total of 19 students from the University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Monroe Community College, State University College at Brockport and at Geneseo, and St. John Fisher College.

Modeled after Leadership Rochester's original program, this initiative attracts students who want to know more about the community outside their campuses and help involve other students. They meet regularly on Saturdays to build their skills and discover people and programs in the city.

"I've found it so valuable to work with young people in the Civic Engagement Program and Urban Fellows," Reaves adds. "Students bring a fresh perspective to issues and their idealism breaks through some of the barriers to finding solutions to problems. From a neighborhood perspective, our goal is to engage these students in their communities and give them a 'front seat' to all Rochester has to offer, both during their college years and as they graduate."

As many as 700 U.S. communities have programs like Leadership Rochester. Many operate within larger groups, such as a Chamber of Commerce, or are situated on college campuses. For more information about Leadership Rochester, which is located in Wilson Commons 510, call x5-9002.

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