The Community Planning and Economic Development (ComPlan) Program will develop leaders and change agents directly from the communities we serve. Emphasizing education, health, leadership, and entrepreneurship, the Institute’s inside – out strategy aspires to create sustainable positive change by investing in the capacity of the people who are most affected. The ComPlan Program supports students and residents to develop their own ideas, equipping them with the skills they need to implement those ideas. Through service learning, the next generation of leaders has a paraprofessional pathway from entry level into leadership positions.
Students will get an opportunity to understand and practice in real time through community and civic engagement internship opportunities. Recent internships have focused on the following issues:
- Unemployment and Career Pathways
- Proposition 47 Campaign: Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiative
- Vermont Square Peace Walk
- Community Benefits, Gentrification and Displacement
- Community Planning, local general plan input
We believe that the college is a powerful agent of community and civic engagement. It is uniquely capable of providing students with the education, networks and practice that they need to be impactful agents of change in their communities. The student’s college education should provide them with the experience they need to fulfill their role as community, national and global citizens.
Get to know more about our program!
