Executive Summary

For 29 years, Texas Target Communities has paired faculty expertise in courses and research with communities across Texas.

This academic year, the most significant accomplishment was winning the 2021 W K Kellogg Award for Exemplary Community Engagement for the work with the City of Nolanville given by the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Additionally, six students won awards for their project work

In the 2021-2022 academic year, 46 faculty and 291 students worked with 15 communities and partners, equating to more than 63,000 student-hours or nearly $1 9 million dollars worth of work in support of Texas communities TxTC also hosted 30 community meetings and 26 community task force meetings in pursuit of highly engaged and participatory projects The service-learning and community-engaged research projects emerged across several themes: Holistic Health, Community Safety & Resilience, Land Stewardship, Re-imagining Housing, Preservation, Art, and Civic Engagement Communities and partnerships include: Rio Grande City, Ponderosa Retreat Center near Melstone, Montana, Galena Park, La Grange, Comanche County, Impact Lufkin, Caldwell, Salvation Army of the Brazos Valley, and the Juneteenth Legacy Project in Galveston

TxTC provided student internship opportunities and hired 21 students with project funds to support deliverables TxTC began fundraising for the Texas Target Communities John T Cooper, Jr Foundation Excellence Award, or as we call it, The Cooper Scholars This first-of-its-kind endowed scholarship program with the Texas A&M Foundation will allow under-represented students opportunities to hone skills in participatory approaches and engage closely with communities

Additionally, students participating in TxTC projects continued to express marked benefits Nearly 90% of students agree that the project made the course objectives easier to learn and over 90% said it made their course more engaging Over 80% of students agreed that the project increased their ability to analyze complex problems, and 85% agreed that the TxTC project did so more than other courses Nearly 60% of students thought the project increased their confidence and nearly 90% of students agreed that the project prepared them for work or their careers Over 95% of students said the project provided opportunities to use their learning to relate to the community and over 90% of students said that the work contributed to making the community a better place to live. All faculty participating agreed the projects were worthwhile for themselves, their students, and the communities they served. All community partners agreed the projects increased their opportunity for data-driven decision-making, were relevant, and encouraged civic engagement.

Several projects were featured across 16 news media publications. TxTC was also featured on the GovLove Podcast, a podcast about local government, describing work with the ENDEAVR Initiative and the City of Nolanville. Additionally, TxTC staff presented at 12 conferences, 9 of which were national conferences. Dr. John Cooper co-authored the chapter “A Path for Rural Resilience” in the new publication, Investing In Rural Prosperity.