UTK Community-University Research Collaborative Initiative (CURCI) helps address community needs by building on the research excellence of the university and the expertise of the community to identify and resolve community issues. CURCI fits closely with the University’s strategic vision to:
- Deepen and extend the university’s ability to connect with Tennesseans
- Strengthen the impact and reputation of our research, scholarship, and creative activities
- Establish, build upon, and streamline processes to identify community needs and activate university resources to meet those needs
- Ensure that the research outcomes we generate lead to the creation of a more just, prosperous, and sustainable future
Programming Themes
Research Funding for Collaborative Research:
CURCI creates a funding structure which incentivizes university faculty and community members to work together.
Relationship Building:
CURCI matches community organizations/members with faculty/staff and works with both community and faculty to create accountable and equitable collaboration agreements.
Bridging and Building Resources and Expertise:
CURCI creates a structure by which community members can reach out to university faculty and/or university faculty and staff can be put in touch with community members. Through building a database of engaged faculty, and recruiting those that want to become engaged, CURCI creates relationships between faculty and community members in which common work can be done. CURCI implements best practices for university-community work and advocates for communities with the data derived from projects.
Changing University Culture and Standards on Engagement:
CURCI chronicles the engagement work of UTK and disseminates findings in ways that serve community, faculty, and the university. CURCI provides standards for student-involved engagement work, encourages faculty to consider the research aspects and outputs of engaged scholarship, provides a model for system-wide engagement efforts, and establishes a set of engagement standards that can count toward faculty and staff evaluation and promotion.
For more information about CURCI’s roots, please visit our history page!