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College of Saint Benedict 2009 Annual Report2009 ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES Please add narrative text that responds to the questions in the four categories below.
Implementation of Student Development
We are currently planning curriculum for our first-year students according to the Bonner model. Due to the fact that we have several programs on campus that are committed to service and social justice, we can plug our students into several different activities. The Bonner Leader Program will ideally provide the infrastructure that will keep our service oriented students engaged and progressing in their leadership development.
Five of the eight Bonner Leaders participated in an alternative break experience the week of March 1st, 2009 at the Anathoth Community Farm in Luck, Wisconsin. The week included several activities sharing the work and mission of the farm and the community members. A non-violence training, a workshop on the destructiveness of nuclear weapons, a women's circle and a tour of the farm challenged the participants to think critically about social justice issues. There are currently 7 members of the the community that live in the 4 eco-friendly houses on the farm. Twenty years ago, Mike and Barb Kass started the farm by choosing to build their own eco-friendly house. Since then, they have built 3 more on the farm and welcome others who want to join them in their mission. Solar showers, a greywater system, gardens and compost toilets are some of the ways the Anathoth community members try to minimize their impact on the environment. Their advocacy for activism inspired the Bonners to reflect on their individual passions and fight for change. To learn more about the Anathoth Community Farm, visit http://anathothcommunityfarm.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/.
In place of the second-year exchange, the Bonner Director and two Bonner Leaders attended IMPACT, where they were able to network and gain better understanding of the Bonner network on a national level.
Since February of 2009, the CSB/SJU Bonners have made efforts to learn more about the effectiveness of social media tools and have worked to implement them on the CSB and SJU campuses. Brian Long, a rising sophomore, has led the CSB/SJU Bonner Leader team in the creation of videos for the Bonner Video Project and a big promotional event that took place in April 2009. The touching video highlighting Place of Hope, an organization that partnered with CSB/SJU Bonners in their Serve 2.0 Initiative to fight Hunger and Homelessness, was given a Star Award at the Summer Leadership Institute 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApaB78auFkY
The CSB/SJU Bonners also put on a campus-wide promotional event on April 23rd, 2009. The purpose of the event was to get the name of Bonner out to fellow students. The Bonners also collected donated items (paper towels and toilet paper) from the students to give to Place of Hope. A fun-filled night complete with campus-led entertainment, a game of BONNER Bingo and free rootbeer floats served to spread the word about Bonner in an attractive way to students. Nearly 200 people came to the first ever CSB/SJU Bonner event! A big part of this success is attributed to the use of media tools to reach out to students. Emails with enticing subject lines and a link to a promotional video, facebook groups and invitations, flyers hung around campus and word of mouth brought in a bigger crowd than anticipated. Success!
CSB/SJU has two Bonners doing Summer of Service. Brian Long, a rising sophomore, is working with the Minnesota Aids Project. Lindsey Cermak, Senior Intern, is working in conjunction with the Bonner Director on administrative duties in preparation for the incoming class of AY 09-10. Implementation of Community Partnerships
CSB/SJU partnered with Place of Hope (POH) to fight Hunger and Homelessness in the St. Cloud community. Place of Hope's mission is to rebuild, repair and restore the lives of individuals who experience homelessness, chemical dependency or other hardships. POH has several outreach programs in place to help people of all ages. To learn more about Place of Hope, visit http://www.placeofhopeministries.org/ .
Since February of 2009, the Bonners have served at Place of Hope, preparing meals and getting to know the mission and work of POH. The Bonners participated in Empty Bowls, a fundraiser hosted by Place of Hope and Crisis Nursery. Empty Bowls is an event where soup is served, where there is entertainment by local churches, kids and community members, and which provides a means for community members to fight hunger together. Handmade ceramic bowls made by community members are available for each attendant to take as a reminder that there is always someone in the world whose bowl is empty.
The Bonners have also spent time interviewing staff at Place of Hope and gathering footage to make into a video highlighting its mission and work. Brian Long, a rising sophomore, put together a touching video about hunger and homelessness in the St. Cloud community. Watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApaB78auFkY
Campus-Wide Culture and Infrastructure
The Liemandt Family Service-Learning Program Developing effective community partnerships is a major goal of the Liemandt Family Service-Learning Program. The Service-Learning staff is committed to staying current with the needs of our local and global communities through statewide memberships, conference attendance, service on local education boards and coalitions, and constantly listening to the diverse needs of our local communities. By working closely with faculty, students, and community partners, Service-Learning staff members exemplify listening, responsiveness, capacity, and commitment to meet the needs of the students and the community. Open communication honors the reciprocal relationship that must occur between the community partner and the student, where the student receives an opportunity for an integrative learning experience and the community partner receives a needed service. A recently formed Advisory Council, including local community partners, faculty members, and students, is an important conduit for listening to our various constituencies.
The Service-Learning Program facilitates multiple opportunities for students to integrate service and academic coursework and has partnered with over 130 community organizations, agencies, and schools over the past ten years. More than 4,500 students have provided over 100,000 hours of service at these sites. Community partnership sites include Anna Marie’s (a shelter for battered women and their children), Habitat for Humanity, and the Minnesota Correctional Facility. Each semester, Service-Learning staff collaborates with about 15 different faculty members from different disciplines to integrate service and reflective learning into their respective courses.
The Education Department at CSB/SJU also has a formal partnership with local K- 12 schools. All students in EDUC 111 must complete a 30-hour service-learning requirement. More than 150 education students per year are placed at 30 sustained sites, including Saint Joseph Lab School, Kennedy Elementary, and Southside Boys & Girls Club. These sites rely on this established service-learning partnership to effectively serve their clients. The coordinator of the Boys & Girls Club attributes much of the club’s success to service-learning involvement: "the kids look forward to when the CSB/SJU students come. I think this shows the positive level of commitment students at CSB/SJU place at our site." Indeed, Service-Learning is a key campus structure that enables effective and meaningful connections with the surrounding communities. For example, a CSB student at Anna Marie’s shelter noted, "overall, I feel the experience opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. It has helped me to see how other people live and how I can better my life. I feel as though I have accomplished something. I feel like I have helped some people see that there is hope for a better life …. I plan on continuing my service in the future and am hopeful that I will be able to change the system in some way, shape or form."
The Service-Learning coordinator consistently receives requests from community organizations that have heard from others in the community about the success and value of service-learning students at CSB and SJU. Students express high satisfaction rates with the services and engagement opportunities offered. In spring 2007, a student satisfaction survey found that 76% received an adequate site orientation, 75% received enough service-learning experiences to meet course goals, 73% applied what they had learned from their service-learning experience to the classroom, 72% found the service-learning project enhanced leadership skills, and 62% stated that more courses should include a service-learning component. Such high levels of engagement in service-learning are consistent with the tradition of service at CSB/SJU.
Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy & Civic Engagement The Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy & Civic Engagement is a recent development at CSB and SJU. The mission of the center is to “cultivate the habit of promoting the common good through an integrative environment for learning and to promote the value of politics, our shared identity as citizens, and our engagement in public work.” The McCarthy Center facilitates civic engagement and expects students to become active, influential members of society. The center also links extensively with alumnae/i and has recently developed an alumnae/i chapter for graduates working in politics and public policy.
Academic departments most actively engaged with the McCarthy Center include Political Science, Economics, Sociology and Peace Studies, although dozens of departments and programs have collaborated with the center. Key activities of the center include the Eugene McCarthy Lecture series (the inaugural speaker in 2007 was E.J. Dionne), Congressman Kennedy’s “Frontiers in Freedom” lecture series, and hosting a McCarthy Scholar-in-Residence. Center staff members have conducted study tours to the immigrant communities of Minneapolis, sustainable green space projects in Chicago, the Iron Range, a local correctional facility, and the university powerhouse. The center places summer interns in Washington, D.C. with resident faculty and training to supplement the internship experience.
In response to an anonymous gift ($1 million to CSB), the McCarthy Center also will now offer nine full-time summer fellowships starting in 2008 at $4,000 each for students to conduct civic engagement projects. The civic engagement project must relate to public policy, politics, and/or community service in partnership with an off-campus organization in Minnesota.
Undergraduate Research at CSB/SJU
The CSBSJU Undergraduate Research Program supports student-faculty collaborative scholarship in all disciplines. The program offers grants to students engaged in research or creative works, supports student travel to meetings, and coordinates a Summer Research Program.
Campus Ministry
Sacred Heart Chapel, CSB St. John's Abbey, SJU
CSB and SJU Campus Ministries preserve knowledge and tradition within the scope of Catholic culture by offering vibrant worship and sacramental opportunities. The Campus Ministry Offices on each campus are committed to serving the spiritual needs of students, focusing in particular on respect, appropriateness, and dignity. Whether the people on campus are of the Catholic faith or of another faith, Campus Ministry (as a cornerstone of a Catholic institution), is committed to enhancing and nourishing the spiritual journey of everyone. Everyone is welcomed, served, and educated without distinction of race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. This is expressly done through four key programs: Liturgy, Spirituality and Social Justice, Alternative Break Experiences, and the Fully Aware Catholic programs.
Alternative Break Experiences (ABE) and other volunteer opportunities, sponsored through CSB and SJU Campus Ministries, respond to identified local, domestic, and international needs. The ABEs are a part of Campus Ministry’s commitment to spirituality and social justice, sharing in that mission by seeking to help students learn to live in solidarity with people throughout the world who may be socially, economically, culturally, and/or politically marginalized. Campus Ministry at the College of Saint Benedict provides both CSB and SJU students with 12 domestic and international trips for Alternative Break Experiences during the winter, spring, and summer breaks.
Campus Ministry at CSB provides students with various alternative break opportunities during the winter, spring, and summer breaks. The alternative break trips are a part of campus ministry's area of SSJ, sharing in that mission by seeking to help students learn to live in solidarity with peoples throughout the world who may be socially, economically and/or politically marginalized, 'the poorest of the poor.' Every year, ABE works hard to provide meaningful trips, both nationally and internationally. Campus Ministry firmly believes that exposure to other cultures, places, and ways of life will enhance the lives of the trip participants. Based on Catholic Social Teaching and Benedictine Values, Campus Ministry strives to provide students with quality experiences that will complement their learning experiences and inspire them.
During Spring Break, ABE sends out 150-250 students and staff to various sites. Cost for ABE trips is $285 plus airfare where applicable. Often, students are required to participate in fundraising efforts to support the trip. Training for fundraising is provided by Campus Ministry.
Student Activities and Leadership Development Student Activities and Leadership Development (SALD) promotes student engagement and service on and off campus. The department’s mission is to enhance the quality of campus life through services and facilitation of integrated learning opportunities. These coordinated opportunities foster social, educational, cultural, and leadership development in collaboration with institutional initiatives. Core values of SALD include learning, service, advocacy, balance, ethical decision-making, stewardship, and community.
Serve 2.0
The CSB/SJU Bonners have primarily used Facebook groups and videos posted on Youtube to reach out to people. The videos have been used for promotional purposes as well as to provide education on the issue of hunger and homelessness in the St. Cloud community.
To check out our videos, visit http://bonnernetwork.pbworks.com/College+of+Saint+Benedict.
To view our campus wiki, visit http://csbsjunetwork.pbworks.com/.
Campus Issue Profiles
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