Economic Inclusion

The Office of University Community Partnerships (UCP) serves a convening role for Drexel's business functions to facilitate the Drexel’s economic inclusion initiatives. Our staff act as facilitators, connecting West Philadelphia economic development partner organizations, businesses, and residents to Drexel offices. We work closely with Procurement Services, Human Resources, Business Services, and Real Estate and Facilities to support and coordinate the locally-engaged anchor mission of the University's operations.

Part of that work is coordinating adult education programs and access to human resources staff through the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships. At the Dornsife Center, local residents can use our open computer lab, get help with applying for jobs, learn more about open positions at Drexel, and work towards completing their high school diploma or GED. We also run periodic programming at the Dornsife Center for West Philadelphia small businesses and entrepreneurs around peer support and building capacity.

UCP also works with important local partners through on-the-job training programs to enable new employment opportunities at Drexel and beyond. These are just some of the different ways in which we pursue a local economic inclusion agenda:

• West Philadelphia Skills Initiative: Partnering on cohort-based, jobs-driven training programs
• Aramark: a food services supplier bringing its own community engagement mission to Drexel
• Procurement Services at Drexel: an emphasis on communication and partnership with diverse and local suppliers
• Our employee home-ownership benefit: helping stabilize single-family homeownership in neighboring communities