Berry College 2009 Annual Report

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2009 ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Please add narrative text that responds to the questions in the four categories below.

  1. Implementation of Student Development
  2. Implementation of Community Partnerships
  3. Campus-Wide Culture and Infrastructure 
  4. Serve 2.0 
  5. Campus Issue Profiles

 

Implementation of Student Development

What was the structure and content for the implementation of the developmental model this year?  In particular, please share (no more than one page text needed):

  • The Structure for training, courses, & meetings
  • Cornerstone Activities including First Year Trip, Second Year Exchange, Third Year (and beyond) Leadership Roles, and Senior Capstone & Presentation of Learning
  • Roles of Student Leaders in integration of the Serve 2.0 initiative (e.g., developing and using web-based tools for service)

 

Trainings, Courses, and Meetings: 

  • Freshmen meet once a week throughout the fall semester. These meetings/trainings are designed to (1) orient freshmen to the practical and theoretical ideals of the Bonner Scholars Program (2) introduce freshmen to the Rome and Floyd County communities (3) build community and cohesion among an often diverse student population. During the spring semester, freshmen transition to a twice-monthly meeting/training schedule. These meetings/trainings focus on event planning and specific topics related the freshmen service trip, which takes place in May. 
  • Sophomores and Juniors meet twice a month throughout the academic year. Topics vary.  
  • Seniors meet twice-monthly during the fall semester. These meetings focus on preparation of senior capstone presentations. During the spring semester, topics vary.
  • Of the above-mentioned trainings, one per month in both the fall and spring semesters is a multi-level, issue-based meeting/training.
  • All levels are required to complete six reflections per semester - one per common commitment. Reflections may be completed in a variety of ways, including attending a Bonner Leadership Team (BLT-led) meeting, attending approved campus or community events, submitting a creative or written piece, etc.

 

Cornerstone Activities:

  • Freshmen: Orientation, First-year trip
  • Sophomores: Sophomore Exchange, Sophomore Recommitment
  • Seniors: Senior Capstone Presentation. The 2008-2009 academic year was the first time that the Bonner Scholars Program invited campus and community members to Senior Capstone Presentations.
  • Bonners at all levels may apply to be part of the Bonner Leadership Team (BLT). This 13-member team serves as a liaison between Bonner Scholars and BSP staff, leads reflections, approves funding for community service projects, etc.

 

Student Leaders in Serve 2.0:

Bonner Scholars Program Wiki: http://berrybsp.pbwiki.com

Viking Fusion's The Cause: http://vikingfusion.berry.edu/index.php/entertainment/the_cause/ 

  • During the 2008-2009 academic year, the Bonner Scholars Program Office employed a Technology Intern. This intern oversaw the creation of the Bonner Scholars Program wiki. Although the wiki was never officially introduced to the greater Bonner Scholars Program community, it does house one of the videos that Bonner, Stephanie Carson completed as part of the Community Non-Profit Video Initiative.
  • The Community Non-Profit Video Initiative was created to produce in-depth videos revolving around community issues and organizations in the community that combat these issues. This student-initiated project has a dual focus: community issue awareness and community organization awareness (from varying non-profit fields) - their history, purpose, and the promotion of volunteer service and assistance in these organizations. The Bonner Scholars Program hopes to make both of these resources available to students beginning fall 2009.  

 

Implementation of Community Partnerships

Please share a summary of your work with community partners, highlighting your work regarding  (no more than one page text needed):

  •  Arrangement and management of community partnerships and placements (orientation, site visits, meetings, strategic planning)
  •  How partners were engaged as co-educators, including academic linkages, courses, and student advising
  • Partnerships managed through site-based or issue-oriented teams, as well as other issue-based organizing undertaken
  • Capacity building initiatives for community partners (such as workshops, policy research, or resource development)

 

During the 2008-2009 academic year, the Bonner Scholars Program took the first steps this year to move to concentrate service at a few selected sites, better ensuring that students advance from volunteers performing simple tasks to community leaders with significant responsibilities. The incorporation of this developmental model at our service sites is similar to the model used throughout Berry's on-campus Work Experience Program.  

 

  • During a summer meeting with our major community partners, we explained the site-based program and asked agencies to volunteer to participate.  Five agencies (Mercy Senior Care, Habitat for Humanity, Floyd Medical Center, Coosa River Basin Initiative, and Boys and Girls Club) accepted the challenge.  Since we did not want to move current students away from their previously selected sites, we decided to assign only the freshmen to these sites based on agency need and student interest.  We will continue to assign incoming classes to these sites, creating teams of students at each and transitioning completely away from the previous assignment policy over the next three years. 

 

  • At a recent meeting with our five partners, all agreed that the model worked well this year for several reasons. (1) Building off of the concept that students should combine their strengths and passions to meet the needs of the world, community partners created specific job descriptions, which outlined service responsibilities and required skills as well as learning opportunities at their respective sites. This system helped students and community partners define expectations in advance of students beginning work. (2) Having a concentrated group of community partners facilitated communication among agencies, students, and the BSP Office. (3) Because community partners were active in leading reflections on social justice, students had a better sense of how their work was part of a movement for systematic change, not simply isolated incidents of kindness. As our students gain more experience, we plan for them to move into positions of increasing responsibility both at their service sites and within the Bonner Center.

 

Campus-Wide Culture and Infrastructure 

Please describe key activities and structures related to the development of campus-wide infrastructure and the role of the Bonner Program in enhancing (or being enhanced by) campus-wide culture and participation in service.  In particular, share  (no more than one page text needed):

  • Key activities for faculty engagement and academic connections.  In particular, note any connections to curricular offerings that are linked to the Bonner Program.
  • Key relationships and activities involving other departments or divisions on campus (for example for recruitment, student wellness or retention, financial aid, and so on).
  • Unique initiatives (such as events, assessment, or strategic planning) that have enhanced institutionalization of service and civic engagement on campus. 

 

Last summer, the Bonner Center for Community Service embarked on a project that asked for input from a variety of stakeholders regarding the Center’s role both on campus and in the local community.  Responses helped guide the definition of a mission for the Bonner Center and initiated a change in the Center’s name that reflected a deeper commitment to community-based education.  “Service” was thought to communicate volunteerism while “engagement” seemed to demonstrate the value of community work that embodies collaboration, critical thinking, and ultimately social change.  Thus, in July 2008, the Bonner Center for Community Service became the Bonner Center for Community Engagement.  This same project assisted in the formulation of a new mission to “facilitate partnerships to promote community service, civic responsibility, social awareness, and academic scholarship. 

 

  •  The Bonner Center secured a $27,900 enrichment grant from the Bonner Foundation to support community-based learning initiatives on campus.  The funds were used to host a faculty symposium that highlighted best practices of service-learning pedagogy and invited community members representing local non-profit and governmental organizations to meet with campus stakeholders regarding the development of reciprocal partnerships that marry academic coursework with community action.  We also offered additional funds to faculty to support development of community-based internships.  Although faculty have yet to develop these internships, we will continue to offer the funds during the coming year.

 

  • Faculty engagement with the Bonner Center has steadily grown this academic year.  The informal gathering of faculty interested in community-based learning now has 20 regular participants.  These faculty helped develop the enrichment grant proposal and the grant application and approval process during meetings of several sub-committees:  symposium planning, internship development, and project fund allocation.  Additionally, after the institution was denied the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, faculty willingly joined a dialogue to begin formulation of an institutional definition of service learning.

 

  • The Bonner Center’s partnerships with local organizations continued to develop and deepen this year.  With the Bonner Scholars Program’s implementation of a site-based model for incoming students, five community partners began to embrace their roles as co-educators by offering forums for discussion and reflection related to the social issues their organizations address.  Further, the Center intentionally designed time and space for a variety community organizations to meet with faculty.  In response to requests by local nonprofit professionals, the Center assisted Rome’s Council of Volunteer Administrators in the planning and delivery of professional development trainings on topics including grant writing and media relations. 

Serve 2.0 

Please highlight your key activities related to the integration of web-based tools as they are connected to the design, management, and outreach for service.  In particular, share  (no more than one page text needed):

  • Link to your campus-wide service center or Bonner Program wiki ,web-site, or Ning site. Please explain how it’s most used and by whom.
  • Your integration with other social media tools (such as the Bonner Network Forum/Ning, Twitter, YouTube, the Bonner Video Project, PolicyOptions Wiki, or others)

 

Official Berry College Bonner Center for Community Engagement: www.berry.edu/service/BCCE

Official Berry College Bonner Scholars Program: www.berry.edu/service/BCCE/Bonner

  • During the 2008-2009 academic year, Berry's Office of E-Communication Services has been redesigning the Bonner Center and Bonner Scholars Program pages as part of an overall campus website reconstruction. We are still working with E-Communications staff to make sure that our pages accurately meet our needs. 

 

Bonner Scholars Program Wiki: http://berrybsp.pbwiki.com

Viking Fusion's The Cause: http://vikingfusion.berry.edu/index.php/entertainment/the_cause/ 

  • The 2008-2009 academic year saw the creation of the Berry College Bonner Scholars Program wiki. Although this site was never officially introduced to Bonner Scholars, it does house one of the videos that Bonner, Stephanie Carson completed as part of the Community Non-Profit Video Initiative. This initiative was created to produce in-depth videos revolving around community issues and organizations in the community that combat these issues. This project has a dual focus: community issue awareness and community organization awareness (from varying non-profit fields) - their history, purpose, and the promotion of volunteer service and assistance in these organizations. The Bonner Scholars Program hopes to make both of these resources available to students beginning fall 2009.  

 

 

Campus Issue Profiles

Add links to your completed or draft campus issue profiles here:

  • Please see Self-Assessment Review and Analysis portion of the annual report. 

 

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