





































IU

Author
RICHARD BRAY  
Community Partnership 
Manager, IUPUI Office of 
Community Engagement  

RICHARD BRAY

Community conversations have 
emerged as a vehicle to invite 
different voices into addressing the 
complexities of society and bridge 
the silos between public and private 
institutions and the communities. At 
IUPUI, the Listening and Learning 
with the Community Conversations 
are projected to be spaces where 
local Indianapolis communities 
and IUPUI faculty, students and 
staff can come together to discuss 
ways to strengthen collaborations 
in areas of common interest. The 
project originated as an initiative to 
further develop the excellence of IU 
community-engaged research and as 
part of a larger project to celebrate 
the IU Bicentennial to be expanded 
to other IU campuses.  

The university has a history of 
providing breadth and depth of 
engagement with communities im-
mediately adjacent to the campus. 
Efforts have been made to leverage 
our collective resources to support 
the community initiatives.  Specifi-
cally in the Martindale-Brightwood 
community, the university received 
a multi-year multi-million dollar 

grant to support education initia-
tives.  After the grant ended, the 
Office of Community Engagement 
– Family, School and Neighborhood 
Engagement (OCE-FSNE) was com-
mitted to remaining engaged and 
supportive of the community.  

So the first community conver-
sation promoted by OCE-FSNE 
occurred on April 17, 2019 at the 
Edna Martin Christian Center, a 
local organization in the heart of 
the Martindale-Brightwood neigh-
borhood located on the east side 
of Indianapolis. Holding the first 
meeting in the neighborhood would 
increase community involvement 
and create a sense of joint own-
ership for the work ahead. Edna 
Martin participated as co-convener; 
and a community resident and uni-
versity staff member collaborated 
to create the community conversa-
tion agenda and co-facilitated the 
dialogue. This conveyed a partner-
ship of mutuality and respect. Local 
clergy, congregation members, 
neighborhood leaders, area resi-
dents, elected officials, law enforce-
ment, university staff, faculty, and 
students attended the conversation. 

Authentic Community-
University Dialogues
Supporting community change 

P R O F I L E S  O F  E N G A G E M E N T

ENGAGE!  |  i u p u i  b i c e n t e n n i a l  e d i t i o n 52



We purposely started the conversation capturing 
the rich history of the neighborhood while centering 
community voice and residents’ pride in their com-
munity. Participants actively listened and learned 
about the neighborhood’s history and voiced their 
perspectives gained from serving, living, and work-
ing in and with the community over the years.  Fol-
lowing, there was a robust dialogue on the neigh-
borhood’s seven strategic initiatives or MB-7. These 
initiatives mark the route to long-term change for 
the neighborhood through the promotion of specific 
initiatives in the arts, education, entrepreneurship, 
housing, health and communication.  During the 
conversation, residents expressed appreciation for 
the continued involvement of the university in sup-
porting neighborhood schools, as well as the recent 
health initiatives for its senior citizen population. 
However, they desire a deeper and more compre-
hensive engagement in all MB-7 areas. 

The conversation we started in April has con-

firmed that the community desires that the 
university remains engaged and supportive with 
community residents and its organizations. The 
community is not looking for the university to in-
vest financially but to invest relationally – through 
faculty, students, and strategic staff persons who 
can facilitate and foster relationships. There is the 
desire for the community to co-create knowledge 
that can be integrated into action for the benefit 
of the community.  One community member said 
“do not weaponize the data against us. But help us 
to understand the data and findings so that we can 
make informed decisions about our future.”   This 
idea of “weaponization” of the data relates to the 
community sentiment of information being used 
to achieve purposes that are divorced and some-
times against community interests. This powerful 
idea also brings us back to the importance of 
legitimate participation of the community in the 
decisions that affect their lives and the ethics of 
university-community engagement. 

IUPUI staff members and community members speak during a community conversation in the Martindale-Brightwood 
neighborhood. Photo credit: John Gentry 

B R A Y  |  D I A L O G U E S  

53 VO L .  1 ,  I S S U E  2



Organizing this first conversation was not with-
out challenges. Community organizations have 
their own processes, projects, plans, timing and 
interests. While our long-time partnership with 
the Edna Martin Christian Center facilitated 
the planning of the conversation, on the side of 
the university, faculty and student involvement 
was not as expected. We think that the time the 
conversation was scheduled (5:00 pm), and the 
university academic calendar (two weeks before 
finals) were barriers to consider for upcoming 
conversations. 

Since this initial conversation, key universi-
ty staff have been participating in community 
governance and planning meetings and support 
the neighborhood MB-7.  For example, there is a 
promising initiative to form an internship pro-
gram that will attract university students from 
a variety of majors (i.e. social work, business, 
and education). Graduate and undergraduate 

students participating in this program will have 
common community engagement experiences 
that support their individual major as well as 
ongoing initiatives and programs at the commu-
nity center.  Additionally, OCE-FSNE has also 
renewed its engagement through continuing 
support to the Martindale Brightwood Educa-
tional Zone (MBEZ) developed to improve the 
educational development and academic outcomes 
of children in the neighborhood.  

As common interests with the community are 
identified, it is expected that more scholars will 
show interest.  A conversation is not just about an 
event or a time but part of a larger process that 
expects to bring about more people involved and 
ultimately change in the community.  Projects and 
programs will evolve and people will change, it is 
expected that the university and the community 
continue fostering meaningful and purposeful 
relationships that remain in time.   

37 Place Community Center, located in Martindale-Brightwood, hosted the community conversation with IUPUI.  
Photo credit: Annie Goeller 

P R O F I L E S  O F  E N G A G E M E N T

ENGAGE!  |  i u p u i  b i c e n t e n n i a l  e d i t i o n 54


