Johnson University Partnerships

Community engagement is a catalyst in our mission to educate students for strategic vocations. Students can choose from dozens of majors, and no matter what career they prepare for, a sense of calling is nurtured through strategic partnerships in the greater Knoxville area.

Community engagement is always mutually beneficial. Our community benefits from resources the University adds to local businesses, organizations, and initiatives. Students benefit from experiences that complement their studies. The University benefits as local partners connect us to the best students from many backgrounds, races, and cultures. We like to say community engagement makes Johnson University a better place to learn and the greater Knoxville area a better place to live. Learn more here.

Johnson University’s Urban Alliance partners with like-minded organizations in urban Knoxville to engage and empower students through inspiring educational experiences.  Uniting Johnson University’s strengths in higher education with the strengths of its community partners, the Urban Alliance offers four initiatives that span a broad range of age groups.  Royal Explorers is a two-week summer science camp experience for middle school students from city center schools.   Future of Hope is a week-long intensive experience for urban area high school students focusing on theological exploration of issues facing Knoxville combined with serving with community partners. The third initiative is Urban Scholars, a scholarship program established to help promising urban high school students attend Johnson University.  Finally, Engage Knoxville is a yearlong inner-city residential experience for both undergraduate and graduate JU students.    Learn more here.

In 2020, Johnson University received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish Three Rivers Collaborative: A Learning Community of Resilient, Adaptive, and Transformative Congregations.

The Three Rivers Collaborative (TRC) will guide Knoxville-area congregations through a process of refining their God-given mission within their ever-changing cultural context. The name alludes to the three rivers that give shape to Knoxville. The three rivers concept is an apt metaphor for the collaborative process of resiliency, adaptation, and transformation that leads to thriving congregations. TRC will include workshops, retreats, immersion trips, and an optional master’s degree in which learning communities of twelve congregations will work together. Over the next five years, we hope to serve at least sixty faith communities through this process.

In cities here in the United States and around the world, Johnson University partners with nonprofit organizations, churches, parachurch organizations, and other universities to create opportunities for our students. Learn more here.