Historical Context

Historical Context

In 1999, the University of South Florida (USF) was awarded a $400,000 Community Opportunity Partnership Center (COPC) grant to implement an innovative Housing and Urban Development (HUD) community opportunity partnership in the Tampa Bay region. Based on the success of the COPC program, the first steps were taken to develop a community-engaged Center. The Jim Walter family created an endowment to support community-centered initiatives/programs at USF. This endowment extended the community involvement that the family deeply values and promotes in the community. The Jim Walter Partnership Center (JWPC) was established in the School of Social Work at USF in 2004. It was the vision of the Walter family that the center be housed in an academic department that provided training to students who would ultimately serve diverse and economically challenged communities.