University, city officials look forward to partnership

SANDUSKY — Plans between Bowling Green State University and the city of Sandusky are taking flight. On Friday, university and city officials gathered at Moseley's in downtown Sandusky to celebrate their year-long partnership.The university announced last week it would team up with the city of Sandusky for its Vital Communities Initiative, which will identify community needs and address them through student involvement and projects.Students and faculty from eight classes are expected to take part in the initiative, according to Jane Rosser, director of BGSU's center for community and civic engagement. Some projects have already started, while others will begin this fall."The City of Sandusky is excited to partner on this initiative," said said Sandusky city manager Eric Wobser. "It deepens an important community partnership with BGSU and, most importantly, provides us with the opportunity to benefit from the energy and talent of students and faculty as they work on important community projects ranging from water quality to neighborhood development."The initiative has a give-and-take focus: each partner "commits human, intellectual and practical resources" to complete the projects, according a recent news release.Examples of completed and upcoming projects:• Architecture professor Salim Elwazani and his students created meaningful gateways and a park to an improved Jaycee Park/Mack Iron Trail.• Political science professor Shannon Orr and graduate students will create surveys asking what programming residents would like to see in their neighborhood with the city planning commission• A Visual Communications Technology student is constructing photo profiles of selected neighborhoods, taking pictures of the existing housing, recreational, commercial, and neighborhood ID features in the Cove, Garden, and Midtown Districts. The project is in conjunction with the city planning commission• Biology professor George Bullerjahn will work on water testing with the city engineering and public works departments• Graphic design lecturer Amy Fidler will work with the Bicentennial History committee on an augmented reality project to highlight local historyVCT student Chelsea Ramey said she's is already at work taking photos and documenting city neighborhoods, restaurants and local establishments for promotional content. She's completing the project through her business class and was connected with the city to help."I really enjoy it. I've always been interested in photography," said the senior from New Washington, Ohio. "It's been interesting to see new things and I hope (my photos) get that out to other people, too. I'm really grateful for the opportunity."Fidler said teams of students will help her with the history project, in which she hopes they'll learn more about of client-based relationships."When you work with the community like this, it's exciting — it's a mutually helpful event," she said.This is the second partnership between BGSU and the city of Sandusky announced in recent weeks. In his "State of the City" address, Wobser introduced a tentative partnership between Cedar Point and Bowling Green State University to establish a post-secondary, brick-and-mortar campus with a housing component somewhere in downtown Sandusky.University administrators, amusement park executives and city officials would develop a tourism-related curriculum, offering a bachelor's degree, for what they're coining as a "resort and attraction management."Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com, follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood and on Facebook www.facebook.com/CaitliNearhoodBowling Green State University and Sandusky officials met at Moseley's in downtown Sandusky on Friday to officially launch their year-long partnership, which will improve city fixtures and give students real-world experiences