Guest Viewpoint: Group wants better ties between campus, community

By Kelly Haslinger

This nation prides itself on being a land of opportunity. In American culture, we are always looking to make things better -- no matter how luxuriously we live, work, and play. We naturally lean towards progress, constantly improving our existing lifestyles, technological systems, government laws, you name it.

Binghamton is no exception to this trend. But there is one trend Binghamton has seemed not to follow. It is no secret that the national economy is struggling; but in this community, the economy, so I have both heard and experienced, is stable.

I have given up believing that the weather patterns, particularly the clouds and rain, will be scientifically altered. Even if there is no hope in that, there is hope that change can happen. It is up to us, the community, to help initiate and support the change that can be controlled -- attracting entrepreneurs, developing the downtown, cleaning up the community, going green, some of the very topics that have been discussed in other small cities.

A group of Binghamton University students is working to initiate some of this change. The Catalysts for Intellectual Capital 2020 (CIC 2020) hopes to highlight the opportunities of the Greater Binghamton region in an effort to increase student retention by the year 2020 and enhance the connections between the university and community.

The student-led economic think-tank explores the positive development that can result from university-community collaborations. It envisions a future where both entities grow together. Change can happen, but it may be that this change comes one building at a time, one student or community member at a time.

One of the primary projects of the group is the CIC (pronounced "kick") Leadership Institute (CIC-LI), an initiative being administered by the CIC 2020 directorate for the third consecutive year. The CIC class is now a credit-bearing course that meets twice a week.

Community leaders are invited into the classroom every Tuesday at the new University Downtown Center to engage in discussion with students, exposing them to different ideas for potentially enhancing the Greater Binghamton area. Discussion topics range from natural resource development to business attraction and retention.

On Fridays, students venture into the community to visit locations that complement the classroom discussions. Each site contributes in some way to Binghamton's cultural or economic success. This could mean providing art for public viewing or employing thousands of local workers.

It always comes back to the community. All those involved have one goal in mind: how can the city become a better place for you, for us?

Over the course of the semester, students have the opportunity to meet with key leaders in different sectors, including health care, industry, culture and politics.

In addition to their participation in these workshops, individual members of the CIC-LI perform integrative research projects that explore ways to revitalize the communities and neighborhoods of Binghamton. This year, students have focused specifically on the "Confluence Project," researching development issues for the city in relation to the new University Downtown Center.

The CIC-LI represents just one of many relationships fostered between the university and community. But a mission like that of the Catalysts for Intellectual Capital is only attainable with the support of leaders from both entities. Therefore, the newest initiative, the CIC Career Partnership, intends to utilize community members as mentors to Binghamton University students -- yet another effort that will call for support and encouragement.

Mayor Matthew T. Ryan wrote that to "(go) forward, we need partnerships, not partisanship." With spring cleaning around the corner, it will take time to throw away some of the old and fix up some of the new -- the same is true with restoring Binghamton. Change does not and will not happen in a day, but with compassion and optimism, together we can stimulate economic progress in our community.