Annual Report – Programmatic Section

Please complete this template below to share programmatic highlights.  The entire report can be three pages or less.  Please share information and highlights, in a letter-like or reporting format, that addresses the following three categories and provides a synopsis of your Bonner Program this year.

Implementation of Student Development: 

How did you implement the developmental model this year within your co-curricular and service activities? (suggested one page text):

Several of the Bonner activities from the website were used in the Fall to train Bonner students around the larger issues associated with civic engagement and service. From article discussions to diversity identity exploration, we have begun to implement the student development model from Bonner. The Bonner model is extremely consistent with the work we are trying to accomplish with students as the Division of Student Life at Dickinson. Several other offices including Community Service and Religious life and the Office of Diversity Initiatives have used the Bonner resources in training their students.

In the Spring semester, the weekly Bonner meetings were divided into formal and informal meetings. The formal meetings were lead by the upper-class leadership team paired with the new Bonner class. Each grouping presented information for discussion and reflection about service. By example, two Bonner students who work at the Employment Skills Center started out their presentation by giving all of the other Bonners a language placement exam in Chinese. The exam was in Chinese as were the directions to take the exam. What they were demonstrating is the challenge people who do speak, read, or write english face when they utilize services at the Employment Skills Center such as English profeciency courses. This model seems to work very well and will be enhanced for the Spring semester next year by having the pairings meet with a faculty member to assist in the preparation for the presentation.

I am hopeful this summer to convene a group of administrators that will look at the Bonner student development model and work to put together a curriculum of sorts for the Bonners in the Fall. The purpose of the group will be to see where cross training can occur with other groups on campus and to utilize the good work that Bonner has done to the benefit of other groups on campus. Other specific ideas for the Fall will be explained in the academic connection section of this report.

Implementation of Community Partnerships: 

Please share a summary of your work with community partners, touching in particular on the following categories (suggested one page text):

As this new Bonner class progresses, I will work with our community partners to develop the more extensive service experiences outlined in the Bonner model. Since this is the first year we have used Americorp grants, I am hopeful that as our relationship with our community partners grows, so will their understanding of the developmental model. This will allow them to offer the types of experiences we hope for with the Bonner program.

Some of the feedback that I have received so far has been a request to have periodic email updates about the training and enrichment program that we put together for the Bonners. This will allow the site supervisors to have a better understanding of the type of issues we are discussing on campus and allow them to assist the students in making the connections to the work they perform at their service site.

I have been meeting with our community partners since early June. My goal for those meeting is to assess the first semester and see how their needs are being met. My goal for the new Bonner class that we will recruit in the Fall is to set up an interview day with the community partners so that the community partners can explain in detail what the placement experience will be to the students and so the community partners can assess fit for what they are looking for in a Bonner. This will allow for a better match for both student and partner and it will also more adequately meet the needs of our community organizations. We also plan to invite some of the community partners to participate in are training and enrichment plan for the Fall semester.

Campus-wide Culture and Infrastructure: 

Please describe key elements and progress in 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, touching on the following (suggested one page text):

Currently, we do not use work-study as a means to allow students to do Bonner and earn money for their education. This summer I have been gathering information to see how to make this work. Currently, all first-year students at Dickinson who are eligible for work-study are required to work in the campus dining hall. My goal is to garner support to allow some of the first-year students who are work study eligible an exception to this rule so that they can receive work-study while being a Bonner. I have a meeting with the President of the College in early August to discuss this.  

In collaboration with Academic Affairs, the following plans will be implemented in the Fall 2008 semester:

1.       Shalom Staub and designated faculty will conduct a general meeting to discuss how to use the distribution course requirements that students already have to enrich the service experience through academic course work. This will be followed up by individual meetings to give one-on-one attention to students who are interested. Participation for this academic connection will be advertised as an expectation for the Bonner recruitment process in the Fall. Global education will be invited to participate as well with the goal of offering Bonners who plan to study abroad information on how to be connected to programs that may offer service or internship opportunities.

2.       Faculty and community partners will be incorporated into a discussion series called Competing Interest. This series will highlight some of the challenges that come with community service work, highlight the many sides of the issue and offer a chance for dialogue about resolution of those issues. One example is the Habitat for Humanity group in Carlisle and the work they have done to provide houses for people in need which in a few instances have caused conflict with neighbors of those houses due to noise levels, occupancy levels, and behavioral issues.

3.       During the Spring 2008 semester, each member of the Bonner leadership team was paired with one to two new Bonner students. The goal of the pairing was for our seasoned Bonners to work with the new Bonners around an area of interest related to their service experience. Each group is charged with presenting their particular issue to the entire Bonner group as an interactive educational experience. During the next academic year, each group will be paired with a faculty member, by invitation of the students, who has expertise or interests in the presentation area. Each group will be asked to meet with the faculty member in preparation for the presentation. The faculty member will be invited to the presentation but not required to attend.

Our Divisional Planning Document is a strategic plan that outlines the philosophical foundation on which we will build our work. This philosophy is very consistant with Bonner philosophy and building our Bonner program will enhance the work of civic engagement on our campus and serve as a model for how we do community service in a complete and well-rounded manner. Several of the iniatives outlined above will be combined with the Office of Religious Life and Community Service to provide all students who do service from our campus with the preparation and reflection that is vital to a high quality program. In a nutshell, our hope is to build our students capacity for more complex work, similar to the Bonner developmental model. We have begun that work with our own Bonner program and the lessons we learn will serve as a guide to how we approach our work with all students.