Community Engagement and Public Service Activities

In May 2023, UW Tacoma hosted a community conference around entrepreneurship, convening a network of incubators, accelerators, funders, investors, industry groups, and economic development agencies for a conference in May. Nearly 100 entrepreneurs and community leaders attended to share their ideas and experiences. The event, created by Jill Purdy in partnership with the Economic Development Board of Tacoma/Pierce County and the William Factory Incubator, was an opportunity for attendees to network, learn from one another, and brainstorm ways to enhance the ecosystem for entrepreneurs. Participants generated numerous ideas for improving access to resources, mentoring, and funding and strengthening support for entrepreneurs. Data collected at the conference will contribute to The BEE Project research currently being conducted by scholars Christina Theodoraki and Winifred Soribe on the South Sound entrepreneurial ecosystem.

This project brings college and middle school students together to learn how to estimate two important metrics: the number of coho salmon spawning in Swan Creek (aka "escapement), and the rate at which coho salmon are dying before they spawn (broadly called "pre-spawn mortality").

Undergraduate students from UW Tacoma also teach the community about their capstone project by participating in Salmon Saturday events hosted by Tacoma Metro Parks.

This government-industry-academic advisory and discussion workgroup was focused on understanding the role of automotive products in water quality impairment.  The group worked to identify causes of stormwater pollution and discussed possible solutions.

The Violence Prevention and Transformation Research Collaborative (VPTRC) is a new initiative housed in the School of Social Work and Criminal Justice at the University of Washington Tacoma that focuses on the study and prevention of violence in general and mass shootings, school violence, and hate crimes, in particular. With funding support from the Vatheuer Family Foundation and the Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools, the VPTRC has two main objectives:

1. Conducting groundbreaking research on the causes and prevention of various forms of violence
2. Sharing this knowledge widely with scholars, practitioners, policy makers, and the public in order to make change and reduce violence in our society.

The VPTRC utilizes empirical knowledge and evidence-based practices from restorative and transformative justice to address issues of violence without creating additional harm through reactive and unnecessarily punitive measures. By better understanding, advocating for, and supporting harm reduction, behavioral threat assessment, conflict resolution, and restorative practices and transformative change, we aim to not only prevent violence but stop it at its root by addressing foundational interpersonal and systemic causes. With this innovative approach informed by decades of research and advocacy, there is countless potential to inform and influence pressing local, national, and international policy debates and thus to positively impact at-risk individuals and affected communities and to improve institutional practices and public safety. We may not be able to end school violence, mass shootings, and hate crimes, but we can certainly do a lot to reduce them considerably.