UR Downtown engages students with Richmond City

Twenty students gathered at UR Downtown's Open House last Friday to explore the newly renovated building, understanding its programs and learn about the University of Richmond's goal of engaging and educating in the heart of Richmond.

Student volunteers and interns welcomed the group with a brief explanation of the facility and then conducted a tour of the downtown space. They said that the building offered space for public lectures, undergraduate and law classes, clinical and pro bono legal services, community-based research and a public gallery.

The law clinic and pro bono center support Richmond families in need and provide legal services to the urban community. A partnership between the university and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work integrates legal and social work there.

"We wanted to use our two powerhouses to engage in the community," said Judy Mejia, program manager of the Richmond Families Initiative a program within UR Downtown.

The partnership combined the resources of the two schools. Bonner Scholars, law students, interns and students from VCU became involved in community-based courses and service learning such as mentoring Richmond youth and providing educational materials to families. Law students gained practical experience with local attorneys, agency leaders and clients.

Apart from a classroom and offices, there was also a conference room and community space available for students, faculty and staff to reserve online at no cost for their organizational meetings and gatherings. Socials, chapter meetings, events and pizza parties are all acceptable reasons to reserve space.

The rooms could be altered to meet different event needs, said Liz Riggs, UR Downtown coordinator. Riggs stressed that the rooms were multipurpose and filled with possibilities.

Emily McFadden, a freshman interested in Habitat for Humanity, said that something like this would be wonderful for public awareness, assembling volunteers and gathering donations. The small group of students who would plan the housing projects would be able to meet in the downtown environment.

UR Downtown is essentially a satellite campus that offers the same facilities and technology as on campus, including wireless internet access with a Richmond login ID and password. The transition is seamless, student presenters said.

"It's so remote, but it is still so connected," said Natalia Virani, a senior Bonner Scholar who coordinated the open house during a Bonner Shadow placement.

The point was to break the students out of the Richmond bubble, Bonner senior intern Kelly Behrend said.

Freshman Shelby Longland agreed: "There's a stereotype about University of Richmond kids being wealthy and sheltered. But this lets us broaden our horizons.

"I don't know how many students are actually interested in doing that - breaking through the stereotype - but I wanted to hear about what was going on downtown."

Mejia said, "We are working really hard to change our reputation."

The Richmond Promise exemplifies Richmond's commitment to engaging in the community, which was not historically characteristic of the university, she said. The mission behind UR Downtown, the collaborative effort of the university's Bonner Center for Civic Engagement and Richmond's T.C. William's School of Law, was to give the university a physical presence in the city of Richmond and to make community-engagement easier.

Students interested in the open house were picked up by GRTC Bus 16 at the corner of Boatwright and Campus Drive. They took a free ride to the nearest bus stop to UR Downtown at 8th and Grace streets, thanks to bus passes issued by Parking Services. The 5,000-square-foot space occupies the first floor of the former Franklin Federal Savings and Loan building at 7th and East Broad streets.

"It's really hard to find interesting things to do when you don't have a car," Longland said. "The bus is easy. You don't even have to change lines."

The facility will repeat the open house on a monthly basis to introduce students to the center, which was completed in March 2009.

"I think students should come," freshman Emily Bowden said. "It's a cool resource. I knew of its existence, but I didn't know what it was for."

One of the main concerns was that UR Downtown's March opening did not garner enough of a student response. During previous open houses, participants were mostly staff, faculty and community partners.

"I only knew about UR Downtown because I worked at the Center for Civic Engagement," Longland said. "My [Resident Assistant] did, too, so she sent out an e-mail about the open house."

Three students from her hall attended. Both Longland and Bowden expressed apprehension about the satellite campus's popularity and were unsure of the student response.

"While we've had four open houses, we didn't have an overwhelming student presence," Mejia said. "This open house was student-run and organized, and there is a much greater student response and student energy, which was our aim and our hope."

The newly renovated UR Downtown facility is both historic and environmentally sustainable. The renovation was pre-certified as a green building by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design at its gold level, Mejia said. Everything from the carpet, lights, paint and plyboo conference tables - a combination of plywood and bamboo - is proof of that.

The walls are decorated with a collection of photographs titled "Through Different Eyes: The Faces of Poverty in Virginia" and a 1956 mural by German artist Hans Gassman titled "The Circulation of Money" that hints at the building's historic designation by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

"We are re-introducing ourselves this semester," Mejia said. "We hope UR Downtown becomes a part of the Richmond student experience."

Contact staff writer Elizabeth Hardy at elizabeth.hardy@richmond.edu