UMiami Civic & Community Engagement

Data through March 2011, released today by Standard & Poor's for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index declined by 4.2% in the first quarter of 2011, after having fallen 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The National Index hit a new recession low with the first quarter's data and posted an annual decline of 5.1% versus the first quarter of 2010. Nationally, home prices are back to their mid-2002 levels.

SMS is a partnership between the University of Miami and Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The Miami-Dade Public School System is the nation's 4th largest. The SMS program pairs graduate student fellows in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines with local middle school science teachers. Our three goals are to: * Improve communication and teaching skills of the graduate students * Enhance the professional development of the middle school teachers * Advance the scientific curiosity of and learning of the middle school students

"Adopt the World (ATW) was designed to raise global awareness among teachers and students in Miami-Dade County. Social studies teachers with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) developed a detailed list of criteria which were used to frame the ATW curricular "modules". As part of the MAIA curriculum, UM graduate students designed the teaching modules with accompanying lesson plans for inclusion in MDCPS' secondary school social studies classes.These curricular supplements provide current material which can be utilized by teachers without increasing their workload. Over five-hundred (500) MDCPS teachers and thousands of students have had access to these modules."

Here's a link to the final combined student project highlighting Miami's emerging art scene for the Fall 2010 UM School of Communication course, CEM 345: Intermediate Electronic Media Production.

"The Joint Center publishes reports, Working Papers, conference proceedings, and Research Notes that make timely housing research available and accessible both within and outside the university."

This powerpoint presentation from Australia might be of interest

Long-term increases in rental housing prices and utility costs combined with stagnant or falling incomes are creating escalating affordability pressures for U.S. renters. "Rental markets are now tightening, with vacancy rates falling and rents climbing," finds a new report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Key findings: * Education in Minnesota appears to be more "civic." * Twin Cities residents appear to have stronger social networks than do residents of Miami. * Levels of trust and satisfaction are much higher in the St. Paul area than in the Miami area * Twin Cities residents were more than twice as likely to volunteer than Miami residents

Although still in development, the office is preparing to serve as a liaison between classroom-based knowledge and community-related problems. "The idea is basically to link the university more directly with local community partners and level the resources of the university to address community needs," said Dr. Robin Bachin, director of the civic engagement project. "We're looking at creating opportunities for students in existing courses where they can have an experiential learning component."

Sephardi Voices is an audiovisual history project that interviews Jews displaced from North Africa, the Middle East and Iran. About 95 percent of Jews in the region have been displaced since World War II. The University of Miami's Department of Religious Studies is leading the effort. The international project director, UM's Henry Green, is looking for interviewees. Call him at 305-284-4375 or e-mail him at hgreen@miami.edu.