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For more than 100 years, Wentworth Institute of Technology has been proud to call the Mission Hill and Fenway neighborhoods in the city of Boston its home. Just as Boston has grown and changed over that time, Wentworth has evolved from a trade school into a higher education insti-tution granting both undergraduate and graduate degrees in the disciplines of engineering, technol-ogy, design, and management.

The Institute remains steadfast in its commitment to serving its community by providing a practical means to a high-quality technical education. As we build for the next hundred years, Wentworth will continue to be a student-focused institution of academic excellence offering high-quality un-dergraduate, graduate, and lifelong learning pro-grams that are both accessible and affordable; it will provide community service through urban engagement and service learning; and foster eco-nomic growth by providing the workforce with highly skilled professionals.

This report offers additional details on how Wentworth engages this vision for campus and community partnerships, ranging from our many service-learning partnerships to our commitments to Mission Hill, Fenway, and the City of Boston.

Sincerely,

Zorica Pantić, EE, Ph.D.

President

Mission Hill as viewed from atop Bea y Hall on Wentworth’s CampusMission Hill as viewed from atop Bea y Hall on Wentworth’s Campus

CONTENTS

Academic Excellence, Affordability & Access

Community Service & Learning

Mee ng Public Responsibili es through Part-

nerships

Economic Impacts & Community Benefits

AcademicExcellence,Affordability&Access

Wentworth is committed to providing a high-quality, career-focused education that blends classroom, lab and real-world experience through cooperative education. Further, the Institute is committed to providing such an education in a manner that is both accessible and affordable to residents of Boston, the Commonwealth, and beyond.

In 2010 Wentworth awarded more than

$425,000 in community scholarships

Scholarships for the Community As an integral part of the commit-ment to Boston and its residents, Wentworth annually provides 14 full year scholarships to graduates of Boston Public High Schools. Four scholarships are specifically designated for residents of the Mis-sion Hill and Fenway neighbor-hoods with one additional full scholarship to a community resi-dent attending Wentworth’s even-ing programs, and one scholarship designated each year for employ-ees of the City of Boston who wish to pursue an associate’s degree.

Boston Public Schools Partnerships Over the past several years, Went-worth has started to align its Bos-ton Public School Partnerships with three key schools/programs that include the John D. O’ Bry-ant School of Mathematics and Science, the Engineering School and the Tech Boston Program. It is with these key partners that Wentworth hopes to lay the foun-dation for and invest in a range of programming and coordination that over time will yield a richer experi-ence for students of those schools and programs as well as a larger and more successful pipeline of Boston Public Schools (BPS) grad-uates to attend and graduate from Wentworth.

College Awareness by Design The Boston chapter of the Archi-tecture, Construction, and Engi-neering (ACE) program is run collaboratively through Gilbane and Turner Construction compa-nies with support from staff and students at Wentworth. The program seeks out high school students interested in ACE fields and pairs them one-on-one with industry mentors. The stu-dents and mentors meet bi-weekly for three hour sessions. Students work in teams on hands-on projects presented at the con-clusion of each academic year.

A Different Approach to Workforce Development

Project STRIVE is a school-to-work transition program for BPS students with a variety of special needs, including physical, cogni-tive, and emotional disabilities. Currently more than 50 students work at Wentworth on a daily basis at the Institute’s Recycling Training Center, where they are hired by Wentworth as an em-ployee and supervised by STRIVE “job coaches.” Students learn valuable work and social skills and also gain the satisfac-tion of holding a paying job for the first time. In 20 years, more the 1,500 students have been em-ployed by the program.

Between 2005 and 2010, Wentworth’s stu dent an d fac-ulty contributions through community-based wo rk an d service had an estimated $14,250,000 in economic value as calculated by the number of hours s erved multiplied b y th e value o f an hour of service in Massa-chusetts as establish ed b y Independent Sector.

Community Service and Service Learning initiatives at Went-worth are coordinated by the Center for Community and Learning Partnerships. Each year nearly 2,000 students and dozens of faculty members pro-vide more than 100,000 hours of service through projects, pro-grams, and activities coordinat-ed by the Center.

Overall, the Center connects the various forms of engagement, ranging from a day of volunteer-ing to a semester of classroom-based service learning, to pro-duce substantive and sustained partnerships.

CommunityService&Learning

Foundations of Service & Learning @ Wentworth

In 2001, before the establishment of the Center for Community and Learning Partnerships at Went-worth, Professor Jonathan Guever-ra from the Humanities, Social Sciences, & Management depart-ment proposed the idea of organiz-ing student volunteers to prepare taxes for community residents for free.

After a period of discussions and planning, in 2002 a small group of student volunteers led by Professor Gueverra came together in partner-ship with ABCD Parker Hill-Fenway and the IRS to form the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (commonly known as VI-TA).

Since the start of this program more than 150 students have been trained and have passed an inten-sive taxation exam to prepare both federal and state tax forms.

The student (and now alumni) vol-unteers have prepared taxes free of charge for more than 1,000 low-income residents of Mission Hill, Fenway, and Boston helping real-ize more than one and half million dollars in tax returns and earned income credits.

Since 2002, Wentworth student, faculty, and alumni volunteers have

helped more than 1,000 low‐income individuals and families realize tax

returns exceeding $1,500,000 in value.

Campus & Community Policing

Wentworth police officers monitor the Institute’s cam-pus property, the adjacent residential neighborhoods, and the public streets 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Wentworth Police Department (WPD) em-ploys a staff of 11 certified Massachusetts Special State Police Officers who are also sworn deputy sher-iffs of Suffolk County and are certified Emergency Medical Technicians. In 2009, the Institute’s public safety operations expenditures amounted to $1,481,136.

WPD coordinates initiatives to promote off-campus student safety and to improve student/neighbor rela-tionships; addresses student behavior problems in the neighborhood; and refers students for disciplinary ac-tion to the Institute’s Office of Community Standards; and participates in Mission Hill Crime Committee meetings, Problem Properties Task Force meetings, and weekend/late-night “Ride-Alongs” with the Bos-ton Police Department.

Open Space and Neighborhood Maintenance

Wentworth allows neighbors and visitors access to campus and the use of open space areas, recreational facilities, athletic fields, and the campus library and dining facilities. In the course of maintaining campus properties, Wentworth makes a concerted effort to clean city sidewalks, curbsides, and catch basins adja-cent to campus properties.

The Institute also participates in various neighborhood beautification projects and maintains two public parks. Wentworth made a capital contribution of $75,000 to-wards the improvement of Evans Way Park in 2002 and the Institute also maintains this public park and the Mass College of Art Park incurring an annual cost of approximately $40,000.

MeetingPublicResponsibilitiesThroughPartnerships

In 2006 Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services (MHNHS) launched a community visioning and plan-ning process concerning a vacant city-owned parcel at Roxbury crossing known as Parcel 25. Through this effort MHNHS’s successfully bid to redevelop the parcel in spring of 2009, and the process is now wind-ing its way from planning to implementation.

Wentworth has been a collaborator throughout this process and has committed to contributing four par-cels of land, collectively known as the Gurney Street

Parcel, to support the redevelopment of the Roxbury Crossing. With the Gurney Street Parcel, MHNHS plans to construct approximately 40 units of afforda-ble senior housing. As of November 2009, the Gurney Street property had an assessed value of $147,300 and an appraised value of approximately $200,000.

Collaborating to Re-build a Community

PILOT Project Highlight: Mission Hill Wireless Net-work In collaboration with Boston Main Streets, Wentworth estab-lished the first node of a planned neighborhood WiFi network to provide free wireless Internet access to residents in the nearby Alice Taylor and Mission Main housing developments. The pro-ject has extended beyond the original three-year commitment and now has been incorporated into broader efforts led by Open Air Boston to bring additional service to nearby businesses and nonprofits in Mission Hill and the Fenway. Wentworth contin-ues to support the program by providing the internet connec-tion, roof rights for staging of equipment, electricity, and stor-age.

In addition to the approximately $1.5 million Wentworth expends on community benefits each year, the Institute also contributes annually to the City of Boston’s Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program. In fiscal year 2009-2010, the Institute paid $36,468 in PILOT contributions in addition to $117,095 in other taxes and fees to the City of Boston.

As a part of Wentworth’s participation in the PILOT program to date, the Institute has implemented three community service pro-jects funded in part by a negotiated allocation of 25% of the Insti-tute’s annual PILOT commitments. These projects include sup-porting the Mission Hill Wireless Network project, installation of “Big Belly” trash receptacles in Mission Hill, and placement of a College Advising Corps member at the John D. O’Brant School.

Leveraging

Partnerships through

Payments in Lieu of

Taxes

Wentworth is committed to com-munity-campus partnerships that are sustained over the long term; layer resources, projects and pro-grams, and are rooted in a mutual understanding of assets and needs. These partnerships create both a more effective learning en-vironment and a more effective vehicle for constructive communi-ty impact.

An example of Wentworth’s com-mitment to community is the Insti-tute’s partnership with Main Streets. This collaboration has last-ed for more than a decade, stem-ming from faculty members and students who have volunteered on boards and committees of more than one district.

To date, nearly 500 students have worked to carry out three dozen service learning projects including conducting market research, fa-çade redesign, streetscape survey-ing, and website development.

Sustaining Meaningful Partnerships

“Wentworth has become a true partner of the City of Boston. Their civic in‐

volvement shows their dedica on to improving our great city.”

~ Mayor Thomas. M. Menino

EconomicImpacts&CommunityBene its

Each year, Wentworth conducts more than

$15 million in business with Massachuse s-

based vendors.

Employment

As of January 31, 2009, Went-worth employed a total of 743 full-time and part-time faculty and staff members, approximately 32% (240) of whom are Boston residents. Wentworth also funds 195 positions through private con-tractors who provide operational services in the areas of cleaning, food service, health services, copy and mail center, receiving and se-curity. Approximately 59% (114) of the individuals employed by these service contractors are Bos-ton residents.

In total, Wentworth employs a total of 938 personnel, of which 38 % are Boston residents.

Wentworth’s payroll and benefits for Fiscal Year 2009 totaled ap-proximately $39,781,000.

Local Purchasing

Wentworth is committed to posi-tively contributing to the economy of the City of Boston and the state. In fiscal year 2009, the Insti-tute made operating and capital purchases (not including major construction) in excess of $ 2 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 , o f w h i c h $15,572,000 was from vendors within Massachusetts. Further-more, $5,318,000 of those pur-chases was from vendors within the City of Boston.

Wentworth’s Community Benefits Plan

In filing for its ten-year Institutional Master Plan with the City of Boston in 2010, the Institute proposed a Community Benefits Plan focused on two primary ob-jectives:

1. Enhance educational opportunities for the young people of the City of Boston

2. Contribute to and support neighborhoods

These objectives will be achieved through partnerships with our neighbors community-based organizations, and the City of Boston. Our long-standing practice of part-nerships was enhanced with the establishment of the

Center for Community and Learning Partnerships and we will build upon these foundations with sustained support, new resources, and a renewed commitment to partnerships that will leverage community benefits in-vestments to achieve a greater impact.

Specifically, the Institute will channel resources into four key initiative areas:

1. Service Learning and Civic Engagement

2. Workforce Development,

3. College Access and Success, and

4. Community-Campus Relations

Wentworth Investment Annual Cumulative

(2010-2020)

Service Learning and Civic Engagement Operations & Facilities

$413,000 $4,130,000

BPS & Neighborhood Schol-arships

$425,000 $4,250,000

Project STRIVE and BPS/School-to-Career Project Operations & Facilities

$461,600 $4,616,000

Community Policing $150,000 $1,500,000

Cash and in-kind community support

$100,000 $1,000,000

Total $1,549,000 $15,490,000

Wentworth Community Benefits Plan Highlights

Key Contacts

Office of the President: (617) 989-4476

Community Relations: (617) 989-4478

Center for Community and Learning Partnerships:

(617) 989-4992

Wentworth Public Safety: (617) 989-4400

Office of Community Standards: (617) 989-4486

Human Resources: (617) 989-4190

Admissions: (617) 989-4000

General Information/Directory: (617) 989-4590

WENTWORTH

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BOSTON, MA 02115

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