President Ryan’s community advisory panel turns 5 with a Community Day

No entity has as large an impact on Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville as the University of Virginia. Soon after Jim Ryan became UVA’s ninth president in 2018, he created a working group to review ways relationships could be improved. 

The President’s Council on UVA-Community Partnerships was tasked with coming up with recommendations for what UVA could do to improve how it interacts with people who live in Charlottesville. Members included Mark Lorenzoni of the Ragged Mountain Running Shop, Juandiego Wade when he was on the city school board, and Barbara Brown Wilson of the UVA School of Architecture. 

“The University of Virginia and the community can forge a stronger relationship over the next five years with strategic, cooperative, and results-oriented action,” reads a summary of the working group’s report from February 25, 2019. 

The top four priorities in descending order were jobs and wages, affordable and workforce housing, public and equitable healthcare, and youth and education.  There were three broad recommendations:

1. Ensure significant University investments to support collaborative action in partnership with affected communities that reduces inequities in jobs and wages, housing, healthcare, and youth education 
2. Establish a new Vice President of Community Partnership (VPCP), overseeing a newly established Office of Community Partnerships and Social Impact (OCPSI) 
3. Found the Equity Institute to infuse principles of accountability and responsible community partnership throughout the University

The working group was made permanent as the President’s Council on UVA-Community Partnerships. Working groups have since been established in six areas ranging from affordable housing to public health. 

This Sunday, the Council will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a Community Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Booker T. Washington Park. 

“It’s a wonderful chance to meet local leaders, connect with fellow neighbors, and explore the partnerships that are creating lasting change in our region,” reads the invitation for the event on the Equity Center’s website. 

The Council’s website provides a monthly update on the six working group areas that may be worth reviewing before you go. (review the monthly updates) 

One of the initiatives that have come from the working groups is a proposal for UVA to contribute some of its land for housing that would be restricted to households below certain incomes. The goal is to provide between 1,000 and 1,500 

• Piedmont Housing Alliance is leading the redevelopment of a site off of Fontaine Avenue
• Preservation of Affordable Housing, an outside group, is developing a project at the corner of 10th and Wertland. The Board of Architectural Review took a look at a preliminary design in May. (read my story)
• A third project will be built at the North Fork Discovery Park in northern Albemarle. Albemarle Supervisors recently rezoned a portion of the property to allow for residential use. 

There is no working group on public infrastructure or public transportation. The University Transit Service only covers the UVA campus and portions of the Jefferson Park Avenue, Lewis Mountain, and Venable neighborhoods. Aside from the trolley-style bus, there is no overlap between UTS routes and Charlottesville Area Transit routes. 

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment is from the October 5, 2024 edition of the newsletter. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.