An Excellence in Civic & Community-Engaged Partnerships Awardee

Tuesday, August 4th at 1:00 PM ET (12:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM MT / 10:00 AM PT)

Join us this summer for a deep dive into the 2026 Campus Compact Programming & Partnership Impact Award winners. This session, you will hear from the University of Rochester East Educational Partnership Organization.

The University of Rochester–East Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) embodies the power of reciprocal, community-engaged partnership to advance educational equity and social transformation. Formed in 2015 among the University of Rochester, the Rochester City School District (RCSD), and the New York State Education Department, the EPO was created to prevent the closure of East High School—then the lowest-performing and most persistently struggling school in New York State.

Guided by principles of collaboration, sustainability, and shared leadership, the University’s Warner School of Education and the East community co-designed a comprehensive plan focused on high-quality teaching, culturally responsive curriculum, and social-emotional well-being. This transdisciplinary approach engages more than 15 University schools and departments, uniting education, health, and workforce development to create holistic pathways for students and families. Initiatives such as the Pathways to Nursing Career Exploration Program, the Eastman Institute for Oral Health dental suite, and the Flaum Eye Institute optics partnership link academic learning to community health and economic opportunity.

In 2016, the University established the Center for Urban Education Success (CUES) to sustain and expand this work. Supported by the William and Sheila Konar Foundation, CUES conducts applied research, disseminates best practices, and promotes culturally responsive and sustaining curricula to improve urban education locally and nationally.

Together, the University and East exemplify a long-term partnership grounded in people with diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and voices (often from the margins) working towards educational inequity, fostering justice, prosperity, and hope for Rochester’s young people and their families.

Dr. Shaun Nelms

Dr. Shaun Nelms is the Vice President for Community Partnerships and Special Advisor to the President at the University of Rochester. He is a distinguished author and leader in education and school transformation. In 2023, he published Leading with Purpose: Empowering Others to Create Lasting Change. 

Dr. Nelms is widely recognized for developing and implementing a successful school transformation model for the lowest-performing school in New York State’s lowest-performing district. As the former superintendent of East Upper and Lower Schools (formerly East High School) in Rochester, N.Y., he led an innovative partnership between the New York State Education Department, the Rochester City School District, and the University of Rochester. This collaboration aimed to create a scalable urban school reform model. During his tenure, the school's graduation rate soared from 29% to 85% in just eight years, showcasing his commitment to improving student outcomes and revitalizing struggling schools.

In recognition of his achievements, Dr. Nelms was appointed the inaugural William and Sheila Konar Director for the Center for Urban Education Success (CUES) at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education and Human Development. In this role, he leads efforts to enhance urban school success through research, collaboration, and dissemination of best practices.