Bonner Fellows—

               Carson-Newman faculty can participate in Bonner Center programs, events, and projects by becoming Bonner Fellows.  Currently there are 20 Bonner Fellows who attend or help lead faculty development workshops held each semester sponsored through the Bonner Center that equip faculty with the skills, knowledge, and incentive grants to integrate service learning and engaged scholarship in one or more of their classes; receive updates and give feedback on decisions pertaining to Bonner programs; mentor one of our issue-based teams; and participate in other ways such as attending events at the Bonner House such as Bonner Visitation Day.

"Who Would Jesus Bomb? Week"  Bonners for a Nuclear Free World—

                This year for our Sophomore Exchange, Carson-Newman and Tusculum Bonner programs partnered with the OREPA (Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance) to learn about nuclear weapons production in our bioregion, U.S. nuclear weapons policy, future options for nuclear disarmament, and public witness aspects of citizenship (public protests, op/ed essay writing, political theatre, lobbying our representatives, etc.).  On campus we partnered with Amnesty International to offer “Who Would Jesus Bomb Week” consisting of background readings, a film showing and panel discussion, and a coffee house to study the issues and create opportunities for dialog.  The week culminated with attending a peace rally and march in Oak Ridge organized by OREPA at which we mingled and talked with participants and observed this form of citizenship.

New Bonner Orientation 2008—

     This past Fall, we had 17 New Bonners and 8 Orientation Leaders participate in our New Bonner Orientation.  The week included student-led workshops on Bonner Distinctives (common commitments, student development model), a discussion of Dr. King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” and a presentation from the Highlander Center (a social justice training and retreat Center 15 minutes from our campus…Dr. King and Rosa Parks both attended training and retreats at Highlander).  In addition to these events at CN, we also took the students to Eagen, TN to spend two nights at the Clearfork Center.  At Clearfork, our students were able to learn about the area where Mrs. Bonner grew-up and work alongside community members to do small gardening and construction projects.  The students also learned how Mountain Top Removal is affecting the community by taking a tour of Strip mining sites from a local man who played in these former mountains as a child.  We feel like this experience helps our students grow closer together, make an important link between their work as Bonners and Mrs. Bonner, and prepare them to be active and engaged Bonners for four years at CN.

Nonprofit Leadership & Social Entrepreneurship—

     At Carson-Newman Bonner Scholars take a freshman seminar entitled “A Beginner’s Guide to Changing the World” and then two additional classes at the sophomore and junior levels that introduce them to the world of nonprofit leadership and social entrepreneurship.  Scholars learn about the inner workings and behind-the-scenes aspects of nonprofit organizations, how to build a strong community organization, and how entrepreneurs are addressing poverty and related problems in creative and sustainable ways around the world.  By their senior year our Scholars are expected to create a campus or community organization, program, or project that addresses a community-defined need.