A longtime University of Iowa initiative, housed within the School of Planning and Public Affairs (SPPA), has been recognized by a leading national organization for its excellence and exemplary best practices. Campus Compact, the largest national coalition of colleges and universities dedicated to community engagement, has bestowed its Excellence in Community-Engaged Partnership Award on the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC).
Founded in 2009, IISC has worked with more than 60 communities across Iowa. IISC began as arranging, coordinating, and overseeing the SPPA graduate student capstone courses and, under the leadership of Director Travis Kraus, has grown to include community projects across many disciplines on campus beyond urban planning. Projects now cross disciplinary boundaries to develop innovative approaches to complex challenges. Students, faculty, and staff collaborate with community partners to complete projects in areas such as public affairs, policy, engineering, visual arts, journalism, marketing, and environmental sciences.
Final reports of IISC community engagement capstone projects completed by planning and public affairs students may be viewed online through the UI Library.