Governments around the world allocated approximately $445 billion of stimulus funding on green investments during the 2009–2010 global recession. The United States alone allocated 12% of its $786 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on green investments. This emerging Green Collar Economy may possess the potential to reinvent the economy and create economically competitive communities. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the metropolitan university's role to engage its neighboring African American communities in the emerging Green Collar Economy. This dissertation also proposes that urban and metropolitan universities can play a central role in advancing the Green Collar Economy. Herein lies three independent manuscripts that explored three research questions 1) What university resources and mechanisms are available to improve university-community engagement linkages with impoverished communities? 2) What are the main predictors of low-income clients' employment in green jobs after being enrolled in an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded green jobs training program? 3) What university-community engagement strategic plan can be implemented to help low-income African American communities, which neighbor urban-serving and metropolitan universities, engage in the emerging Green Collar Economy? Macro-level solutions are presented throughout the dissertation which may be useful to key decision-makers such as university administrators, program planners, urban planners, and community advocates interested in taking advantage of the Green Collar Economy.