The Interprofessional Program for Academic Community Engagement (IPACE) fellow hosted an event for students from the seven UMB schools to discover what it means to call Baltimore and UMB home.
One of the 2023-2024 Interprofessional Program for Academic Community Engagement (IPACE) fellows, Rosemary Ferreira, MEd, serves as the associate director of the Intercultural Center, which is housed under UMB Student Affairs. BMore for Baltimore was both her IPACE fellowship project and was part of UMB Student Affairs' Fall Kick Off event series, which is held annually as an opportunity for students from all seven UMB schools to come together and discover what it means to call Baltimore and UMB home. The IPACE fellowship program facilitates the skills and knowledge of UMB faculty, staff, and community leaders to advance community engagement through teaching, scholarly programs, community-focused research, or community-engaged practice.
Each fellow is tasked with completing a project that enhances community engagement at UMB. For her project, Ferreira developed BMore for Baltimore to contribute toward building a more inclusive and collaborative culture between the seven schools at UMB and local community leaders advancing social justice in Baltimore City.
The event began with introductions and brief overviews of the Intercultural Center and the Office of Community Engagement, which co-sponsored the event. It then transitioned into a panel of community leaders engaged in social justice work in Baltimore City. The panel featured Denzel Mitchell Jr., executive director of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore, Nneka N’namdi, founder of Fight Blight BMore, and Samuel Jordan, director of the Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition. Each panelist’s work focused on the distinct fields of urban farming, housing, and public transit, respectively. However, they were able to interweave their responses and discuss the importance in seeking justice and equity for poor and working-class Black people in Baltimore. Finally, attendees participated in a small group dialogue, where they were able to discuss perceptions and narratives about Baltimore and what their commitment to the city will be.
The event has received multiple five-star ratings on the UMBEngaged platform, which was utilized for event registration. Feedback included that the event was organized and informative and requests for panelists to return to UMB as independent speakers. Overall, Ferreira is proud and grateful for the opportunity to put together a space that centers and uplifts the knowledge and work of local community leaders as well as encouraging UMB students, staff, and faculty to unpack any implicit biases they may have about Baltimore to become professionals who are more socially aware and just in their practice.
Ferreira says, "The IPACE fellowship provided me with the opportunity to connect with individuals from across UMB who shared a similar interest in community-engaged research and practice. I appreciated being in a learning environment where we could discuss relevant texts, take a tour of Baltimore's civil rights history, and engage in dialogue with one another to ensure that our projects are inclusive and community centered."
Visit the IPACE webpage to learn more and apply to be a fellow in the 2024-25 cohort.