The Kenneth Cole Community Building Fellowship Program is an intensive twelve-month program that introduces a talented, dedicated, and diverse group of Emory undergraduates to the challenges and opportunities for building community in contemporary urban America. Launched in 2002 with a seed gift from the Kenneth Cole Foundation, the program quickly has become a national model for connecting classroom to community.

Through academic coursework, an intensive 12-week summer field experience, site visits, small group meetings, and an annual leadership conference, Kenneth Cole Community Building Fellows have the opportunity to see first-hand the critical role that collaboration plays in the resolution of important public problems. They also begin honing the skills needed to transform their passion for social justice into meaningful actions to revitalize their communities and promote positive - and lasting - social change.

The Kenneth Cole Fellowship Program benefits not only the students, it also provides immediate action on significant community issues here in metro Atlanta. The summer field experience engages the Fellows as collaborators with community building efforts throughout metro Atlanta. Proposed and selected by the community, the collaborative community building projects address issues related to affordable housing and community development, health, the environment, and social justice. The skills and capacities of both students and community partners grow as a result, and real change takes place - today.

Call for Proposals for 2005 Collaborative Community Building Projects

Three Year Report, 2002-2004