City of Worcester, MA

WORCESTER, Mass. – At an event at Worcester City Hall, the City of Worcester and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) today formally signed an agreement to launch the Academic Civic Collaborative, a new framework designed to strengthen coordination between the municipality and the university around community-centered, Worcester-based academic projects. Announced at the same event, the City of Worcester, WPI, and the Central Massachusetts Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIACM) also introduced the Design and Community Partnership, a separate design-focused partnership aligned with—and advancing the goals of—the broader Collaborative.

“This Academic Civic Collaborative reflects Worcester’s commitment to leveraging local talent, creativity, and academic excellence to benefit our neighborhoods and communities,” said Worcester City Manager Eric D. Batista. “By working hand-in-hand with WPI and project partners, we are developing thoughtful, inclusive design solutions that directly respond to the needs of our residents. The Collaborative will benefit both Worcester students and residents for years to come and is exactly the kind of civic collaboration that moves a city forward.”

“Projects like these are possible because of the strong public-private collaborations Worcester has with partners like WPI and AIACM,” said Mayor Joseph Petty. “The Academic Civic Collaborative and the Design & Community Partnership will help the city plan and build for the future.”

The Academic Civic Collaborative builds on more than two decades of WPI projects in Worcester—including hundreds of initiatives completed through the Worcester Community Project Center—and provides a consistent structure for municipally-identified student projects to be advanced annually, reinforcing Worcester’s role as a key partner within WPI’s project-based learning model.

“WPI’s mission has always been rooted in harnessing science, engineering, and design to serve the public good,” said WPI President Grace J. Wang. “The Academic Civic Collaborative deepens our engagement with the City of Worcester and strengthens our commitment to community-driven project work. The Design and Community Partnership is a powerful early example of how this work will create new opportunities for our architectural engineering students and meaningfully contribute to the city we proudly call home.”

Through the Design and Community Partnership, the municipality, WPI, and AIACM will advance community-centered design efforts across Worcester, including small-scale civic structures, adaptive reuse concepts, housing prototypes, public space enhancements, and sustainability initiatives. These projects connect students and faculty with architects, engineers, trade professionals, residents, and municipal leaders to pair educational value with civic impact.

“Architects have a responsibility to serve the greater good, and this partnership creates an extraordinary platform for design to make a measurable difference in people’s lives,” said Sean Brennan, President of AIACM and a lifelong Worcester resident. “Together with WPI and the municipality, we are cultivating the next generation of designers and supporting the regional design community, all while advancing projects that strengthen Worcester’s civic fabric.”

Building on more than a decade of successful WPI architectural engineering projects in the community—such as the Elm Park Bridge replacement and the WWI Memorial in Green Hill Park, and recent conceptual work related to resource shelters—the design partnership supports continued collaboration while expanding workforce pathways and strengthening the regional design ecosystem.

“WPI has a long tradition of successful architectural engineering projects in the community,” said Steven Van Dessel, director of the Architectural Engineering Program at WPI. “Our students are eager to work on real-world challenges, and this collaboration with the City and AIACM gives them the opportunity to apply their engineering and design expertise where it matters most—right here in Worcester.”

Under this coordinated effort, the City of Worcester will identify priority projects, coordinate across municipal departments, facilitate community engagement, and ensure that design concepts align with long-term planning goals and neighborhood needs. AIACM will serve as a liaison among the municipality, WPI, and participating design professionals—providing professional expertise, convening community engagement sessions, and offering overall coordination and oversight.

Additional initiatives, partnerships, and projects will be announced as future opportunities are identified and developed.

###