Petersburg Partnership

In late 2005, William and Mary conducted a review of its outreach activities to identify regions that lagged the Commonwealth in economic indicators and might benefit from collaboration.  Following that review, the College approached the City of Petersburg and the Phoenix Project, a non-profit organization, to propose a community and economic development partnership.  The selection of Petersburg by a steering committee of William and Mary staff and faculty was driven by three primary factors:  Petersburg's size wad deemed appropriate for the planned engagement; the community faced significant challenges; and William and Mary had an affiliation with Richard Bland College in Petersburg.  The partnership offered Petersburg access to significant resources for revitalization and the College new opportunities for its administrators, faculty, and students, as well as an opportunity to satisfy the specific restructuring obligation of engaging a community that "lags the Commonwealth in education, income, employment, and other factors."  William and Mary saw a partnership with the Phoenix Project as a way of leveraging other resources, building a sustained effort, reducing administrative overhead, and ensuring close consultation with various community groups.

See also the Petersburg Partnership annual action plan report. 

Click HERE to view a powepoint overview of the Petersburg Project.

William and Mary’s economic and community outreach plan for 2007-2008 includes the following elements:

• Continue to explore semester-long capacity building projects for nonprofit organizations and municipal agencies as independent studies, internships or as part of traditional classes.

• Continue service trips to Petersburg under the auspices of the Phoenix Project, in which students spend the weekend completing valuable direct service projects, speaking with Petersburg leadership and learning how to identify other opportunities to connect their educational goals and engagement in the partnership.

• Continue visits by the President, Vice Presidents, Provost and other key administrators to observe personally the partnership's impact on the community.  Continue to make supporting the partnership and institutional priority.

• Through the Phoenix Project, involve William and Mary students and faculty in the planning and implementation of the Army-Community Heritage Partnership, an effort to position Petersburg to capitalize on the massive infusion of military personnel to neighboring Fort Lee as ordered by BRAC, and to capture as fuel for revitalization some of the accompanying $1.2 billion in anticipated regional investment.

• Implement a planning grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund to engage stakeholders in formulating a strategy for assisting K-12 educational reform efforts.

• Pilot a program for Petersburg high school students to engage them in community development efforts and prepare them for success at institutions of higher education.

• Work with a community advisory board to identify and prioritize future projects in partnership with William and Mary.  Expand the board of the Phoenix Project, consisting of business, education, public, and nonprofit leaders, to include increased representation from both the William and Mary and Petersburg communities.

• Explore the possibility of expanding connections with other universities in the Petersburg partnership, in addition to Virginia State University and Richard Bland College.