"Neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept." 
— Joachim Prinz

The focus of the Center for Community solutions is to address community need through providing project-based, community-engaged learning experiences for students, enabling their applying knowledge and skills learned, and community partners value through achieving organizational goals and objectives with needed assistance at no cost to the community partners. Thus, the CCS is central to informing, growing, and sustaining the University’s community engagement and leadership as an institutional priority and demonstrating the genuine commitment toward actualizing its public mission through serving as an anchor within community and meeting community need.

Our Mission

  • To facilitate university and community connections as a single point of contact
  • To connect campus resources with community needs
  • To provide opportunities for students to develop and apply their problem solving skills while enhancing their educational experience
  • To promote the professional expertise of our faculty and staff to external clients as requested across a range of business areas and topics

Areas for Potential Community Partnership

  • The Arts
  • Cultural Resources Management
  • Education
  • GIS and Planning
  • Government
  • Health and Wellness
  • History
  • Marketing and/or Brand Development
  • Organizational Planning and Leadership
  • Research
  • Social Justice
  • Social Media and/or Video Production
  • Sustainability
  • Tutoring and/or Mentoring
  • Website and/or App Development
  • Writing
Dr. Julie L. Dietrich – CCS Director and Executive Director of the Office of External Relations

Dr. Julie L. Dietrich serves as the institution’s primary government relations officer, cultivating and sustaining relationships with local, state, and federal elected officials and their offices, and a leading liaison within community. Through her position, Dr. Dietrich focuses upon executing strategic community and economic development as well as facilitating communication and negotiating partnerships among key leaders to help leverage and optimize the use of institutional assets and addressing community need.

Curtis Stockley IV – Graduate Assistant, Office of External Relations

As the Graduate Assistant, Curtis Stockley IV serves an essential role through fulfilling project management and legislative tracking responsibilities, developing and managing website content, and contributing to the writing of communication materials. Also, he assists with governmental relations in aiding the Executive Director and is integral to the collaboration and partnership through the Center for Community Solutions, helping to cultivate students' skillsets and knowledge throughout their community-engaged, project-based learning experiences. Curtis is a recent Cheyney University alumnus, earning his undergraduate degree in Social Relations with a concentration in American Political Studies; he is pursuing his Master of Human Resources Management degree. He brings to this role three years of student government association experience as well as service and leadership through the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the S.E.T. Mentorship Program, and first-year experience programming. Curtis' enthusiasm and eagerness to aid students working alongside the Center for Community Solutions and Office of External Relations will serve the University's students well.