During this past semester, the Chamber had an opportunity to partner with the mayor’s office and The City Of Martinsville, Indiana‘s administration to work with a Capstone class in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. Capstone projects are designed to demonstrate the team’s ability to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout their studies to a real-world problem.
Led by project leaders Nathan Smalley and Faryal Sharif, along with advisor, Professor Mark Levin, the project was titled “Positioning Martinsville for Growth.” A culmination of months of hard work and dedication by a team of 19 talented grad students, the semester-long project focused on four areas where our community was lacking the capacity to fill in the gaps. After multiple meetings with Kenny Costin Mayor of Martinsville, Mack Porter, executive assistant to the mayor, and Jamie Taylor, the president/CEO of the Chamber, the class leadership decided to concentrate on the areas of Community Amenities, Economic Development, Public Art, and Public Image and divided the class into four individual teams, one for each topic.
Communicating with the mayor’s office and the chamber continuously, the team of grad students worked tirelessly to research, analyze, and develop solutions that addressed the challenges in each of the designated areas. The result was a professional final presentation that gave us practical action items as we move forward, along with the associated documentation and programs.
The Capstone team far exceeded our expectations, and this project was a great example of how invaluable partnerships can be to all parties. We are excited to see how their success will translate into the future projects and endeavors of each of these talented students and we know that the chamber and the city administration will benefit greatly from the suggestions made as part of the final report.
Mayor Costin has scheduled a follow-up meeting with community stakeholders to determine next steps and we are looking forward to continuing the partnership with the mayor’s office and the city administration. Stay tuned for more information and links to the final report… #martinsvilleindiana #IUbloomington #iuspea
FINAL PRESENTATION OF CAPSTONE PROJECT TO CLIENTS AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
