For the past 25 years, Ohio State faculty and staff have been working to bring the communities east and west of High Street together. This year, those efforts are taking off through a $50,000 grant from the University Neighborhood Seed Grant Awards. The grant will be spent on 10 projects that will take learning out of OSU classrooms and move it into the University District neighborhoods. The grants encourage partnerships between OSU faculty and students with their neighbors across High Street, said Mike Casto, director of Campus Collaborative.”The University hasn’t always been a good neighbor or a good partner,” he said. The projects range from teaching music and dance, tutoring Spanish-speaking school-kids, to evaluating trees in the district.Terrell Morgan, an associate professor in Spanish and Portuguese, wanted the grant so he could integrate OSU students taking Spanish with community members who use the language in every-day life.His plans include first determining the size of the Spanish-speaking community in the University district, and then planning learning projects.Those kinds of partnerships are what will ultimately improve the University District, said Casto.Other projects that the grant will be used for include:

  • a project through the Department of Physical Activity and the Department of Recreational Sports to link children and parents from neighborhoods around OSU with families of OSU staff, faculty and students
  • OSU faculty and staff, musicians from the Columbus Symphony and BalletMet will work with students from three University District schools on educational “informances”
  • Faculty and students from the College of Education, the Summit United Methodist Church, Columbus Literacy Council, Indianola Middle School and the faculty, the Neighborhood Learning Circles and staff of Workforce Education and Lifelong Learning will work together to provide adult learning opportunities for University District residents
  • Seniors from the College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine will work to develop educational materials for neighborhood children on food safety, disease control and environmental sanitation
  • Students in the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services will partner with the Family Focus Center at Second Avenue Elementary School to provide counseling services for students there
  • Education students will work with the Family Center to provide support for this north campus neighborhood resource center
  • Students from the School of Natural Resources will evaluate trees in the University District and make recommendations to the City Forester for the City of Columbus
  • Two University District schools will be linked with education students to conduct a neighborhood study and needs assessment as a foundation for community service learning
  • a pilot project in collaboration with the University District Organization to encourage neighborhood attendance at art-related events on campus.