UIC Urban Forum highlights power of community engagement 

In an era marked by complex social, economic and environmental challenges, the need for collaboration between anchor institutions and communities becomes even more crucial.  

The University of Illinois Chicago Urban Forum, which explores important questions facing today’s cities, this year will examine what makes for effective community engagement. How can cities move beyond traditional outreach to build reciprocal partnerships and solutions that have sustainable, lasting impact? 

UIC’s 2025 Urban Forum, “The Power of Community Engagement: Building Bridges for Shared Impact,” will take place April 8, 11:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m. at Student Center East, Illinois Room, 750 S. Halsted St. 

During the event, leaders from the community, academia, business and government will consider questions such as:  

• What does successful community engagement look like?  
• How can anchor institutions best leverage their expertise, resources and services to address the many challenges that cities and communities face? 
• How can we inspire anchor institutions to reimagine their role, not just as knowledge producers or mission-driven actors, but as active participants in society’s equitable well-being and development? 

The forum’s keynote speaker is Juan González, a senior research fellow at UIC’s Great Cities Institute. 

For the forum’s first panel discussion, “Reflecting on the Commitment to Build Great Cities,” moderator and panelist Teresa Córdova, director of the Great Cities Institute and professor of urban planning and policy, will talk with panelists Wim Wiewel, first director of the Great Cities Institute, and Phil Nyden, founding director of the Center for Urban Research and Learning at Loyola University Chicago, about how community-engaged research can inform urban agendas.

The second panel discussion, “The City is Not Our Laboratory: The Promise of Knowledge Co-production,” will explore how scientific inquiry based on long-term university-community partnerships facilitates mutual learning and research on complex social problems. Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and Alonzo Waheed, program director at Equity and Transformation, will join moderator and panelist Nik Theodore, UIC distinguished professor of urban planning and policy and director of the Center for Urban Economic Development, to discuss the impact that community-engaged research can have.

In a Lightning Talk segment, the audience will hear brief presentations from Kate Albrecht, assistant professor of public policy, management and analytics at UIC; Khelan Todd, chief impact and innovation officer at the North Lawndale Employment Network; and Tony Woods, executive director of Public Equity.

Admission is $25 for the general public and includes a box lunch and snacks. Admission is free for all Chicago-area teachers, faculty and students with a valid school ID. UIC faculty, students and staff also may attend for free with a valid UIC i-card. All attendees must register online before the event. Media who wish to cover the event can RSVP to Brian Flood at bflood@uic.edu. For more information, email uicurban@uic.edu.

Event details, including the agenda and speaker bios, are available on the UIC Urban Forum website. Follow the UIC Urban Forum on Facebook and X for updates.

Co-chairs of the 2025 UIC Urban Forum are Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board president, and Marie Lynn Miranda, UIC chancellor. Joe Hoereth, director of UIC’s Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, serves as program director.

The event is sponsored by the UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, UIC’s Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, WBEZ 91.5 and Vocalo.