UWF Community Partner Spotlight honors local organizations engaged in education

“Community and economic engagement is one of the five key directions in the University’s Strategic Plan and is important to the institution’s success,” said Lindsey Walk, director of community and employer engagement at UWF. “These partnerships assist in enhancing our region, as well as the quality of life of the citizens and communities served by UWF.”

The inaugural community partners honored include Baptist Health Care, the Escambia County School District and Pen Air Federal Credit Union.

• Baptist Health Care currently employs more than 300 UWF nursing graduates and provides care and counseling for students and student-athletes. In conjunction with UWF, Baptist is developing a mobile app for a research study to help train nurses in situational awareness.
• The Escambia County School District has been a partner to UWF for many years, welcoming student-teachers and interns. In partnership with UWF’s Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering, ECSD hosts annual events including the BEST Robotics competition, the Science Olympiad and the Cyberpatriot competition.
• Pen Air Federal Credit Union provides mentors for UWF business students as part of the Executive Mentor Program, as well as workshops and programs to UWF students to teach leadership skills and financial literacy.

Community partners and community engagement activities are identified through annual reports submitted from units across the University. The Community Engagement Coordinating Committee comprised of students, faculty and staff reviews the intensity, impact and benefit of these partnerships and selects the partners to spotlight.

For more information about UWF’s Community Partner Spotlight, visit the website.