Community Engagement

Submitted by Mark Winson

Attendance: Gary K., Steve W., Janet B., Pam E., Peggy G., Kevin F., Mark W., Wade G., Bill M., Sonda S-L.

Define ‘Event’
invite persons from the outside (open to the public)
anything that brings the community on to the campus
***Anytime the public comes to the campus for an activity is an event
Event/activities that involve public areas (not classroom/lab)

SWOT analysis
Strengths

• Have great facilities
• Great maintenance staff
• Plenty of parking
• Great location
• Staff creatively generates the opportunity for events

Weaknesses

• No protocol/procedure for events
• Ideas are generated throughout the campus (lack of central processing)
• People do not know what is available here (facilities, etc.)
• Don’t have a consistent fee structure for charging
• Have not clarified which senior administrator is in charge
• R25 is not well understood and/or utilized well by staff
• Don’t have an updated directory (map) of rooms and locations

Opportunities

• Ideas are generated throughout the campus (lots of ideas for events)
• We have established events that could generate other events
• We have an established program for scheduling (R25)
• We can generate some revenue through events
• Events generate greater publicity for institution

Threats

• Competition with other venues
• Perception that the campus is favoring some political or religious viewpoint
• Liability issues
• Inconsistent application of policy

Current State

• Communication – use of R25 and its capabilities (invite Shannon to next meeting)
• Need to develop a check list for event planning
• Discussion on types of events to try to attract to campus
• Not in competition with other venues

Events should be…

• Tied to LSC mission
• Student driven
• Cultural
• Public service

To do list:

• Need to research state policy on using state resources for “for profit” organizations
• Research other college policies
• Provide committee members with copies of current policy and application forms
• This committee does not have a faculty representative, so it is important to solicit faculty input on this project