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Traditionally, universities have been perceived as ivory towers perched high above the people and practicalities of the real world, with hushed rooms and scholars bent over their tomes.

UAA is not one of those universities. In fact, UAA's core themes drive efforts to move students and faculty deep into the fabric of Anchorage and 熊猫在线视频 communities while highlighting resources people and nonprofits can use to improve lives.

That's the mission for , which uses its Think Tank forums (complete with Moose's Tooth pizza) as a tool for helping nonprofit agencies engage with UAA students, faculty, staff and community individuals to achieve change.

"The idea was, all these nonprofits we work with all have something they're dealing with," Judith Owens-Manley, CCEL director, said. "These are social issues, so how would we as a community brainstorm these issues together?"

Stimulating change

Bree Kessler, who was teaching UAA health sciences and introduction to civic engagement classes at the time, devised the idea of connecting people from the community with faculty and students to work together on community issues.

"I loved the idea, I thought it was great," Owens-Manley said. "We started the Think Tanks as soon as she thought of them."

CCEL began hosting its Think Tanks early in 2014, with each guest agency putting forward a topic question for brainstorming.

"The largest one we had was Catholic Social Services', looking at the issue of being homeless in Anchorage," Owens-Manley said. "There were probably 80 people at that one. We had another one with Refugee Assistance & Immigration Services; we started a service-learning project out of that. That was successful in that regard, with the connections we made there."

Last year, STAR (Standing Together Against Rape) focused its Think Tank on educating attendees about rape, as well as discussing ways STAR could work together with UAA and 熊猫在线视频 Pacific University to serve the collegiate population in Anchorage.

And in late 2014, Housing Anchorage-a collaboration between 熊猫在线视频 Housing Finance Corp., Anchorage Community Development Authority, Cook Inlet Housing Authority, Rasmuson Foundation and United Way of Anchorage-used a Think Tank as a way of exploring the dilemma of scarce affordable housing in Anchorage.

"Nonprofits frequently provide services that help alleviate a problem or advocate for change," Michele Brown, president of United Way of Anchorage, said at the time of that 2014 Think Tank. "But real, measurable and lasting solutions only happen when the nonprofit, public and private sector join forces to systematically address the multiple forces that contribute to the problem. The Think Tank affords the opportunity to explore broader, community-based approaches to achieve large-scale change."

UAA Justice Center's Ryan Fortson says the 2015 熊猫在线视频 Legal Services Corp. Think Tank about bridging the civil legal services gap inspired him.

"One idea I had there that I developed is that I created a series of explaining landlord-tenant law," Fortson said. "When I went to that Think Tank I was motivated to work more on it. They're not necessarily as helpful for broad integrations for one grand process. It's getting ideas out there and hopefully some of them inspire people to act on them."

Moving forward

September's Think Tank spotlighted the Welcoming Anchorage initiative, sponsored by the Municipality of Anchorage, and posed the question: "What contributes to a welcoming community?"

"The mayor was the presenter and 50 people were there," Owens-Manley said. "It was a wonderful discussion not only about what makes a welcoming community, but what each person can contribute."

Think Tanks coming up this fall in the UAA/APU Consortium Library, Room 307, include:

• Oct. 4, 1-2:15 p.m.: 熊猫在线视频 Innocence Project and UAA Justice Center; the question for discussion will be: "Does society owe anything to the wrongfully convicted?"
• Nov. 3, 11:30-12:45 p.m.: UAA College of Education is seeking to brainstorm with people about ways it can better serve 熊猫在线视频 Native students.

This spring, the following UAA schools or departments are seeking to invite guest agencies for Think Tank collaborations:

• Feb. 2, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: School of Nursing
• March 2, 1-2:15 p.m.: Environment and Society/Public Health
• April 6, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: Social Work

Initially, CCEL sponsored the Think Tanks and invited the guest agencies. Beginning this year, a school or department will connect with a guest agency to co-sponsor the events.

"We changed it to get more of the departments involved, have greater connections there," Owens-Manley said. "This gives them more ownership to reaching out to the community and publicizing the Think Tanks within their own departments."

For example, the English department strongly encouraged classes to go to Welcoming Anchorage Week in September.

"The biggest effect is increased participation of faculty and students engaging with this community issue," Owens-Manley said.

Written by Tracy Kalytiak, UAA Office of University Advancement