Annual Report – Programmatic Section

Looking back on the 2007-2008 school year reveals consistent growth in the developmental model, community partnerships and the campus-wide culture of service. 

Implementation of Student Development: 

The developmental model continues to serve as the foundation for our Bonner Scholar curriculum improvements.  This past year we made several enhancements to the curriculum.  First,  we increased our focus on written reflection pieces and each class took on an intensive project to create reflection pieces worthy of publication.  The Class of 2011 wrote reflections on their service trip to New Orleans; the Classes of 2010 and 2009 worked with Associate Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center, Dr. Shireen Campbell, on “This I Believe” essays, and the Class of 2008 comprised oral histories that reflected upon their journeys as Bonner Scholars.

Second, group service  projects within each class were expanded.  Each year the first year class collaborates with the Residence Life Office and the Ada Jenkins After School Program on a “Trick or Treat on Campus” project.  In 2007-2008, the second and third year classes each developed their own projects.  The Class of 2010 partnered with Davidson Elementary and J.V. Washam Schools for the 1^st Charity Basketball game between the two schools.  Scholars collected donations, worked crowd control, and were the game day operations staff.  The game raised over $5000 for the Ada Jenkins After School Program.  The Class of 2009 worked with the Engage for Change movement on a Poverty Simulation open to members of the Davidson College community.  The scholars trained with local community partner Dr. Kathryn Firman-Sellers during and after the Spring Bonner Retreat.  Scholars acted as service providers during the simulation and helped facilitate small group discussion.

Third, we changed the timing of the  First Year Trip to coincide with Spring Break which worked well.  Members of the Class of 2011, along with student leaders and the program director, traveled to New Orleans from March 2^nd through March 8^th to work with ACORN/NO.  Scholars studied the issues facing New Orleans following hurricanes Katrina and Rita prior to the trip and spent the week engaged in rehabilitation service as well as educational programming.

Implementation of Community Partnerships: 

As seen in our key pieces from the developmental model, our successes would not be possible without the strong relationships we have with our community partners.  Twenty-eight sites hosted Bonner Scholars over the academic year and nearly all of them have hosted Bonners in previous years.

Community partners not only made themselves available for the above-mentioned projects, but were also present for some class meetings.

In addition to partnerships specific to Bonner Scholars, a new initiative was implemented that served to strengthen partnerships with the community campus-wide (and many Bonner Scholars were positively touched by this as well).  The Community Service Office was excited to roll-out a new community workshop series during 2007-08. Building Skills for Social Change is a workshop series         co-sponsored by the Davidson College Community Service Office, United Way of Central Carolinas and the Lake Norman Community Development Council. The series is designed for non-profit professionals as well as students, faculty and staff at Davidson College and other area higher education institutions.  Sessions are designed to build the capacities of our non-profit and community organizations and to provide networking opportunities across organizations.  In its inaugural year, a total of 99 people participated in the program.  Twenty-one participants attended 5 or more workshops earning a certificate and a copy of the book "Building Communities from the Inside Out".

Campus-wide Culture and Infrastructure: 

The culture and support for civic engagement at Davidson is strong.   Davidson College has a rich history of engaging and supporting students in service endeavors. Over 90% of our student body engages in service with a variety of community partners.  The value of service is enacted daily in curricular and co-curricular activities.  Progress has been made over the course of the past year to further develop and enhance campus-wide participation in civic engagement activities.

i. Relationships with faculty -  The Community Service Office at Davidson College unveiled its new curriculum development granting program to support the integration of community-based learning components into existing courses.  Summer stipends of $1,500 were made available via application to faculty who desired to combine direct service with course learning goals to meet a community-defined need

ii.  Relationships with departments – The Bonner Scholars Office worked with the Office of Admission and Financial Aid to further develop the recruitment process.  Staff and current scholars were actively involved in recruitment weekends and interviews with prospective scholars.  In addition, the application materials were moved online and recruitment began earlier in the year.  The result was more than half of the Class of 2012 committed to the program prior to June 1^st.

iii. Unique initiatives

·         Strategic Assessment – President Ross initiated a strategic assessment process designed to evaluate the way Davidson looks now and shape the way the college will look in the future.  The college formed a series of study groups to examine issues emerging from the strategic assessment process.  One study group focused on “Service and Community Engagement” and has recommended a center model as the plan moves forward.  This will be presented to the Board of Trustees in October 2008.

·         Student interest in social justice issues and community-based learning continued to be widespread during the 07-08 academic year.  Examples of programs that engaged the entire campus are:

·         Engage for Change - Engage for Change is a year of service, advocacy, philanthropy and education around a single theme for social action.  The idea originated with a group of students, in the spring of 2006, who wanted to pool their energy and resources around the same issues, instead of working separately.  The effort now includes faculty, staff and community members.  The theme for 2007-08 was “New Visions for Home” and explored issues of affordable and attainable housing.

·         Alternative Breaks– During the fall and spring breaks, 4-5 groups of approximately 10-12 students take part in a short-term, alternative break service project.  Trips are led by trained students leaders and have include projects around housing, energy conservation, disaster relief, homelessness, youth issues and environmental issues in locations like New Orleans, John’s Island South Carolina, Florida and DC.  Participants return to campus and take part in a reflection session with other trip groups to share their experiences and what they learned.

·         Service Saturdays – Our service trips are one of our most successful and in demand programs. Each year, students are turned away from our Alternative Break and International Service Trip programs.  With the goal of providing more group service experiences but in a local, one-day format, we piloted Service Saturdays.  Our goal in bringing the program back was to offer the opportunity to faculty, staff and students to be involved in service together and then have dinner and group reflection time.  We piloted the program this year, offering 5 “Service Saturdays” throughout the year. Each group included an average of 10 participants depending on the community partner’s capacity to “host” the group. Trip leaders / facilitators included Bonner Scholars who are leaders at the particular sites.