Camarillo, Calif. Oct. 20, 2009 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) has announced a campus and community town hall meeting to be held Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in Malibu Hall 100 on the University campus.

The town hall meeting, an initiative of the CSU’s Chancellors Office and the University’s Center for Community Engagement, will provide a forum for the University and community to engage in conversations about needs and assets as a result of the current economic crisis, raise awareness of the impacts of the crisis, strengthen partnerships between the University and the community, and provide a foundation of information for the CSU to seek external funders to support community engagement work throughout California.

CI’s Center for Community Engagement, in collaboration with the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics, the Political Science program, Student Government, and Ventura County Together – a community collaborative comprised of First 5 Ventura County, United Way of Ventura County, Ventura County Community Foundation, and the Community Commission for Ventura County will host the meeting.

Ventura County Together will begin the program by presenting information gathered in a recent survey of County needs. Susan Englund, Vice President, Community Impact for United Way of Ventura County, stated that in their survey, food, housing and healthcare were the three most pressing needs.

Economics professor and Dean of Faculty, Dr. Ashish Vaidya, will present an assessment of the likely impact of the budget crisis on Ventura County and its future. After the speakers, facilitated discussion groups composed of faculty, students, community members and non-profits, will have an opportunity to discuss problems and possible solutions. The work at the town hall meeting will be aimed at producing an action agenda to be sent to the Chancellor.

Pilar Pacheco, Assistant Director of the Center for Community Engagement, mentioned an example of University and community partnerships. Since there is currently an increase of homeless children in Ventura County due in large part to the mortgage/foreclosure crisis, sociology students at CI are partnering with ‘School On Wheels,’ a non-profit, volunteer program in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties that tutors homeless children. Students are serving as tutors and some are also acting as volunteer coordinators for outreach programs. This project was taken on as a service learning component of their coursework.

Through leveraging community and University resources, plus joint community research, CI will be able to serve better the community, strengthen community partnerships, and create awareness of the current problems and needs of the community as a whole. Dr. Andrea Grove, Faculty Director of the Center for Community Engagement emphasized the effort to pull together community members, students, faculty, and staff to apply CI’s mission to today’s severe challenges.

For those wishing to attend the meeting, please contact Pilar Pacheco at 805-437-8851 or pilar.pacheco@csuci.edu.

For media inquiries, contact Nancy Gill, Director of Communication & Marketing at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-8456 or nancy.gill@csuci.edu.

CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.