Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture

At the intersection of the Chicago Center’s strategic priorities and opportunities for outstanding academic growth comes the drive to move the Chicago Center forward. We're meeting the challenges facing higher education and putting our unique positioning and competitive advantages to work, strengthening our reputation as we move into the future.

The Chicago Center prepares the next generation of social champions with the experiences and skill sets to regularly question what’s around them, apply skills, and create change in communities across the globe.

Our approach to experiential learning uses the power of place and community voices through our First Voice Pedagogy to extend the traditional classroom in Chicago. This pedagogical approach is woven throughout this plan.

The Chicago Center embarked upon the strategic planning process in spring 2022 after more than 15 years since the last strategic plan had been developed. Initial input from Chicago Center's internal leadership members and from a board of directors strategy retreat informed early drafts of this plan.

Over the course of this planning process, the Chicago Center's executive director solicited additional feedback with campus liaisons, department chairs, and faculty members are affiliated college, an alumni survey (include 25+ responses), individual and group conversations. Externally focused scans also included research and readings as well as reviews of other institutional and organizational strategic plans. The result is an ambitious plan that orients us toward the future, while keeping true to our core principles — and to the academic mission of the Chicago Center.

We have the opportunity to build on what we do well and meet the needs of our students and community by focusing on these four strategic priorities.

The Chicago Center builds on our strong foundation as a provider of place-based, experiential learning in Chicago and positions us for mission-aligned growth in the near term with this bold new plan.

Priority I. Experiential Learning
Transformational learning is hard, joyful, threatening, eye-opening, and identity-driven. Few can manage this transformation alone. To thrive, all learners need consistent support and guidance at the point of need, throughout their learning journey. Through scaffolded support and guidance, students will learn to identify and connect their existing experience with new contexts and learning, thereby building contextual agility and competence.

The objectives in this priority area enable the Chicago Center to continue providing robust academic, personal, and professional development for our students through an experiential learning and living environment. We affirm our approach to place-based, experiential education for college students and other participants. This priority builds upon the Chicago Center’s history and active role in using the power of place and people in education.

Priority II. Academic Initiatives
Students come to the Chicago Center with a rich and diverse background of experiences, and all have had a wealth of experience related to their futures across different dimensions of growth. We will continue to imagine new ways to contribute to students’ growth and professional development.

Priority III. Administrative Advancements
The objectives in this area will enable the Chicago Center’s administrative functioning to be student-centered, responsive, and barrier-free for our staff, instructors, students, and campus partners.

Priority IV. Alumni Engagement
We will engage and leverage the Chicago Center alumni network to increase investment in our students, their future, and the Chicago Center. In three years, Chicago Center alumni will know about opportunities to engage with CCULC, build relationships with students and other alumni, and financially contribute to the wellbeing of the organization.