Institute for Community Development closes doors

Since opening in 1993, Concordia’s Institute for Community Development (ICD) has helped the university in its mission to serve the community and provide opportunities for students to benefit from experiential learning programs.

To streamline the cost of operations, the university is closing the institute and folding its programs — the University of the Streets Café and experiential and service learning courses — into the School of Extended Learning’s Instructional Services Unit.

As Dean of the School of Extended Learning Noel Burke explains, the institute’s programs have been an incredible success, largely due to the individuals who have run them over the years. But after reviewing the cost of providing the services within the current structure, “it was deemed more cost-effective and efficient to move the services into other operational units.”

The University of the Streets Café is a popular series of public conversations held in cafés and community spaces across the city. The experiential and service learning courses offer students a chance to gain practical and hands-on experience as a volunteer while earning university credit or recognition.

Burke says the university deems the University of the Streets Café and the experiential and service learning courses as extremely important to the university’s outreach mission, and he is confident that both elements will continue to thrive.

The decision to close the institute means three individuals will not have their contracts renewed. “We thank Elizabeth Hunt, Eryn Fitzgerald and Mireille Landry for the commitment they have shown to the institute and their significant contribution to the university’s mission over the years,” Burke says.

Initially bolstered by a generous donation, the ICD offered a variety of outreach initiatives, including an innovative summer program in community development, which ran until 2007. Over its 15 years, the summer program brought more than 12,000 community workers and activists from all over the world to the Loyola Campus for an annual week of training and reflection.

Related link:
•  Concordia’s School of Extended Learning