Strategic Area of Focus:
Community Engagement

GOALS: Become a leader and partner with the community to address social, economic, environmental, political, educational and cultural issues impacting the U.S. Virgin Islands through a range of higher education initiatives.

A Valued Community Resource

UVI is committed to serving the U.S. Virgin Islands with programs and resources designed to strengthen both the University and the Territory. We will continue addressing critical issues for improving public education in the Territory through our work with the Virgin Islands Department of Education. We will also enhance the quality and relevancy of community-oriented programs through increased collaboration with education, business, health, human services, art, labor, and other community sectors.

To expand our role in the community, we will develop new and additional consulting services, directed research, and technical support aimed at addressing issues impacting the community. To support the continued expansion of valuable workplace and personal development skills, UVI will offer more certifications, workforce training, continuing education, lifelong learning, professional development, and consulting services geared to the unique needs and opportunities represented by the people and communities of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• The Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning Center (CELL) provides human resource development, consulting, and workforce and professional development training programs critical to the economic prosperity of the Virgin Islands and surrounding Caribbean islands.
• The Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR) promotes the development of local science and technology resources through research and helps to build partnerships between government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.

Click here for more detail about this area of focus, including goals, operational objectives and measures of accomplishment.

"Being in the CELL program showed me how to turn an interest in helping people into a career. Through it, I was certified as a Nursing Assistant and Home Health Aide in three months, plus I got a chance to see what nursing was like before attending nursing school. Now, I plan to complete my RN in 2010, because I am going part-time. UVI is especially great for adult working students like me who need flexible scheduling."

Emerald Finney '10, Nursing major and certified nursing assistant/home health aide