Center for Community Partnerships

For the first time this year, Wesleyan's Beckham Hall served at Middletown's District No. 14 polling location for the presidential primary election held on April 26. District No. 14 encompasses most of the Wesleyan campus as well most of downtown Middletown. According to Cathy Lechowicz, director of the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships, the District No. 14 polling location was at the Senior Center on Broad Street for many years. When the relocation and construction of a new Senior Center required the polling place to be moved, Middletown's Registrar of Voters asked if Wesleyan would be willing to serve as the new location.…

On Feb. 26, Wesleyan honored Ellen Jewett ’81, P’17, a former trustee and incoming co-chair of the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, for her many years of service to the university with the naming of the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships (JCCP) during a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside of the center, located on the third floor of the Allbritton Center. The ceremony was part of the university’s Board of Trustees reception. The event was attended by more than 150 guests, including Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78, outgoing board chairman Joshua Boger '73, P'06, P'09, and JCCP director Cathy Lechowicz, as well as…

Arpita Vora ’16 clicks through a website that seeks to raise awareness about the hardships faced by low-income families in North Carolina. Middlesex United Way, the organization at which Vora was placed through the Center for Community Partnerships’ yearlong pilot Nonprofit Board Residency Program, is hoping to create a similar site using data from Connecticut. (more…)

#THISISWHY Cathy Lechowicz, director of the Center for Community Partnerships, was one of six people honored with a 2015 Community Service Award by the Connecticut Commission on Community Service and the Office of Higher Education. The winners--drawn from college students, campus programs and faculty and staff--were recognized at a ceremony April 14 at the Connecticut State Capitol. This was the 23rd annual awards ceremony conducted by the Connecticut Commission on Community Service. More than 50 students, faculty and staff attended the ceremony. "I am humbled by the recognition and grateful to work with an incredible team of people at Allbritton,…

Wesleyan’s Center for Community Partnerships celebrated its 10th year anniversary on April 8. The CCP, located inside the Allbritton Center, serves the development of both the individual and the community and is guided by principles of mutual respect and shared responsibility. The different offices that combine to constitute the CCP are the Service-Learning Center, the Office of Community Service and Volunteerism, the Office of Community Relations, the Green Street Arts Center/PIMMS, and the Center for Prison Education. Each office within the CCP connects Wesleyan to surrounding communities. The Service-Learning Center integrates experiences outside the classroom with an academic curriculum taught…

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Cathy Lechowicz, who served as the director of the Office of Community Services and Volunteerism for the past eight years, has taken on a new role, director of the Center for Community Partnerships (CCP). "Cathy’s charge is to support the University’s liberal arts mission by collaborating with departments to engage faculty, staff, and students to weave civic engagement into the fabric of Wesleyan’s academic, community, and student endeavors," wrote Rob Rosenthal, provost and vice president for academic affairs, in an all-campus e-mail. The CCP combines the resources of Service-Learning Center, the Office of Community Service and Volunteerism, the Office of…

Frank Kuan, executive director of the Center for Community Partnerships, received the inaugural Al Award from the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce Central Business Bureau (CBB) on June 3. The award is named after Middletown Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano, who has been a member of the CBB for 25 years, and is given to a member of the CBB who provides service above and beyond what is required or expected. The CBB presents this award to one of its members each year. Kuan is a graduate of California State University at Fresno and began his career in Middlesex County as a counselor…

Q: Sarah-Jane, you came to Wesleyan as the artistic and education coordinator at the Green Street Arts Center in July. Is this a new position? A: The position was created as part of a restructuring, but primarily replaced the artistic director position. My position is overseen by the Center for Community Partnerships at Wesleyan, and fits wonderfully with the service learning and outreach components of the mission of the university. All of the classes, events, workshops, private lessons and community partnership programs that happen at Green Street come under my position. Q: Cite some examples of recent artistic- and education-related…

Wesleyan, Middletown Community Members Vote at Beckham Hall April 26

Jewett ’81 P’17 Honored with Naming of Center for Community Partnerships

Pilot Program Gives Students Insight into Local Nonprofits

Lechowicz Honored with State Community Service Award

Center for Community Partnerships Celebrates 10 Years

Students Learn about Volunteer Opportunities at Community Engagement Fair

Lechowicz to Serve as Director of the Center for Community Partnerships

Kuan Receives Al Award from Middlesex Business Bureau

Sarah-Jane Ripa ’02 Coordinates Workshops, Classes, Community Programs at Green Street