2025 Theme
Thank you for attending the Urban Forum on April 8th, 2025
Photos and videos will be available soon.
Please take our event survey!
We will see you in 2026!
UIC Urban Forum 2025
The Power of Community Engagement: Building Bridges for Shared Impact
In an era marked by complex social, economic, and environmental challenges, the need for collaboration between anchor institutions and communities has never been more crucial. To be effective, community engagement must evolve beyond traditional outreach and reflect reciprocal partnerships and co-created solutions seeking sustainable impacts. At the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA), our 30 years of community engagement experience in Chicago leads us to understand that community engagement is also a means to fostering civic responsibility for addressing local and global issues through collaboration while creating inclusive spaces for dialogue and innovation.
This begs important questions: what does successful community engagement look like? How can anchor institutions best leverage their expertise, resources, and service capacities to address the many challenges faced by cities and the various communities within them? How can we inspire anchor institutions to reimagine their role, not just as knowledge producers or mission-driven actors, but as active participants in the equitable well-being and development of society?
The UIC Urban Forum has traditionally explored important questions facing today’s cities. Join us for the 2025 event, where leaders from the community, academia, business, and government will take these questions head-on with a program that showcases best practices, explores engagement models, and inspires partnerships that anchor institutions and communities to thrive together for a better future that benefits all.
Co-Chairs:
Marie Lynn Miranda, Chancellor, University of Illinois Chicago
Toni Preckwinkle, President, Cook County Board