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Macalester College 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 DevelopmentWhat 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):
Training, Courses, & Meetings Structure
All Bonner Monthly
Logistics Meetings
Other Required Opportunities
Optional Opportunities
Orientation The pre-orientation for Bonners was an intensive three and a half day retreat that started with a welcome dinner allowing for Bonners to meet one another but also get introduced to the CEC and Bonner. Wayne Meisel, Bonner Foundation President welcomed and energized the students. Ice breakers and community building were present throughout the retreat, with a half day dedicated to team-building at YMCA Camp Iduhapi. Students were introduced to the Philosophy & Areas of Emphasis of the CEC and where Bonner fits within the CEC. Bonner 101, logistics, and expectations were covered as was an introduction to goal setting and writing a Bonner Community Learning Agreement. Students spent a day on campus and had an opportunity to meet with Brian Lindeman the Director Financial Aid, Karin Trail Johnson the CEC Director, Professor Ruthanne Kurth-Shai their first-year seminar professor on Urban Education, and Ruth Janisch Lake who covered information on their work-study sites. Bonners also participated in a workshop led by MN Literacy Council on the “ABCs of Tutoring”.
First-year Bonner Seminar: Urban Education in Challenging Times http://www.macalester.edu/~kurthschai/pdf/UECT%20syll%20F08.doc Students studied contemporary challenges and opportunities affecting urban public education on local, national and international levels. They worked both individually and collectively, on campus and in the community, to analyze specific policy issues and reform strategies. These complex concerns were addressed from multiple perspectives, using varied approaches to teaching and learning.
Student Leadership Bonner planning committees have been organized to assist with the implementation of the program for next year. Each committee consists of 3 Bonners. The committees will work primarily with the Bonner Coordinator and Bonner Senior Intern on carrying out the logistics and details but will also connect with community partners and other staff and departments on campus.
Cornerstone Activities including First Year Trip, Second Year Exchange, Third Year (and beyond) Leadership Roles, and Senior Capstone & Presentation of Learning
First Year Trip A group of 24 Bonners and non-Bonners and 4 staff went to New Orleans completing Macalester’s fourth service-based trip to the area since Hurricane Katrina. Bonner strengthens the institutional commitment Macalester has in the support of the ongoing rebuilding efforts in the area. Trip participants participated in four one hour pre-orientation preparation sessions covering expectations, pre-trip readings, student presentations from previous trips, and a brief history of the area and why the impact of Katrina was so devastating to this area were presented by the Chair of the Hispanic Studies Department. Participants were also asked to view the first two requiems of Spike Lee’s documentary “When the Levees Broke.” The producers of the film “Trouble the Water” were brought to campus by the Macalester Program Board to screen and discuss the film – participants were asked to attend this event as well as part of the preparation for the trip. Upon return students presented a slide show and video during a brown bag lunch presentation of the trip.
Second Year Exchange Two students participated in the 2009 IMPACT Conference as part of the Second Year Exchange. Students benefited from not only conference content but the opportunity to meet other Bonners. As part of their participation in the conference students, we asked students how they would bring the information learned at the IMPACT conference back to the Macalester community. The students conducted mini-workshops for Macalester student organizations based on the workshops they attended. The program participants while impressed with the work that schools are engaged in nationwide felt that Macalester has strengths to share and highly encouraged participants in CEC programs to consider leading workshops at the 2010 conference.
Third Year Leadership Roles Two campus wide fellowship opportunities are available to rising juniors and seniors the Lilly Summer Fellows Program and The Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship.Four Bonner students are participating in these opportunities.
The Lilly Project provides the opportunity for a group of students to explore how they will live as global citizens serving their ethical and/or religious commitments in a complex world. Student interns and researchers live in intentional community in a house on campus, united by commitments to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, intentional community and vocational exploration. The program grants students space to try out new practices in relation to work, relationship, the local community, and the environment. Students live together engaging in research or an internship in line with their vocation, yet equally commit to learning, supporting and being influenced by other student’s work for the broader common good. Students work full-time on their projects for the 10 weeks of the program and attend a three-day orientation. Full-time internships are 35 hours per week. In addition, a minimum of five hours per week is spent in facilitated group reflection.
The Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship is a seven-month fellowship that includes a spring seminar and a funded summer internship. Through a semester long seminar each fellow studies democratic engagement in social and organizational change, reads relevant literature, examines case studies, writes reflective papers and engages with guest speakers from the public service community. During the course of the seminar, fellows identify a client (an individual or a public service organization) with whom the student can analyze and address a problem, and then work with that client on a mutually agreed-upon solution. Students select a policy, social or organizational problem and, supported by peer review and consultation, create a written proposal outlining feasible strategies and solutions. During the summer—supported by a $4,000 stipend—the student works full-time on-site in partnership with the client, implementing the agreed-upon proposal. Fellows meet as a group during the summer to discuss progress, review problems and provide mutual support. The fellowship will culminate in early fall with an event in which fellows, faculty and clients have an opportunity to reflect on the fellowship experience.
Roles of Student Leaders in integration of the Serve 2.0 initiative (e.g., developing and using web-based tools for service)
Two student leaders have assisted with this project. The College Access Organizer leads an on-campus group of students called Opportunities Abound. She will use the wiki, Google suite, and video as a means to organize the group beginning in the fall. The CEC has used this project as an opportunity to develop an infrastructure for web 2.0 technologies. As part of this project, a student has been hired to create this infrastructure. This student will also work with our community partner into the fall semester on integrating technologies into the partner’s mentoring program.
Implementation of Community PartnershipsPlease 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 Each of the Civic Engagement Center programs (Bonner, Leaders in Service, Lives of Commitment, Off-Campus Student Employment) all maintain community partnerships. Both professional and student staff conduct site-visits, meetings, and both group and 1:1 orientations with sites each year. The Off-campus Student Employment Coordinator holds an orientation for all community partners employing a Macalester student that covers expectations of supervisors and of students as well as logistical information like time cards. Strategic planning for the year and beyond occur on an individual site basis and are based on organizational need as well as program linkages within the Civic Engagement Center. The working relationships developed with our community partners emphasize building and maintaining relationships over time, reciprocity, consistency, and multifaceted connections.
Partners as Co-educators The CEC often calls upon our community partners in their area of expertise to lead workshops and trainings for our student leadership programs (see training section above). Through Off-campus Student Employment, of which Bonners are a part, community partners offer direct supervision and mentoring to students at their site. This is an area that is also being strengthened through our CBR initiatives.
Site-based/Issue Based Organizing The work carried out through Leaders in Service is structured in teams of Issue-based Organizers and Site-based Coordinators. The issue areas that students work under are CollegeAccess, Economic Justice, Environment &Sustainability, Global Opportunities, Health &Wellness, Immigrants &Refugees, Women &Gender, and Youth &Tutoring.
Issue-based Organizers serve as liaisons between the campus and local community organizations fostering a lifelong commitment to service in themselves and others. The work involved is geared towards increasing the capacity of community organizations and building strong sustainable community partnerships. This is carried outby connecting organizations with student volunteers and college resources as well as bringing organizational expertise to campus through educational programming. Further enhancing partnerships, Organizers spend two hours per week off-campus at an emerging or current partner to advance programming and the partnership. Issue-based Organizer positions are work-study employees, earning an 8-10 hour a week award in the Civic Engagement Center.
Site-based Coordinators are responsible for promoting and coordinating one specific volunteer program at a community agency. They act as liaisons between the agency’s volunteer coordinator, students, and the college on behalf of the Civic Engagement Center. Site-based Coordinator positions are voluntary and require a year long-commitment. Coordinators spend 3-6 hours a week coordinating the logistics for their site-based opportunities, including their volunteer time at the site. Site-based Coordinators recruit students for their site, lead a weekly group of volunteers at the site, hold reflection and/or training sessions for their group and additional student volunteers at the site. They maintain frequent communication with the Issue-based Organizer in their area, attend any all-issue meetings, and work with the Issue Organizer to meaningfully recognize volunteers.
Campus-Wide Culture and InfrastructurePlease 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):
Faculty Engagement and Academic Connections This past academic year, the Civic Engagement Center (CEC) supported 38 courses with a civic engagement component in 18 departments. The CEC provided assistance with syllabus development, locating site partners, orienting faculty and students to the Twin Cities, supporting students with research, and disseminating public scholarship results. Civic Engagement Course Program (TM) grants from Project Pericles (copyright) helped fund a Philosophy class taught by Professor Amy Ihlan. Its themes centered on community life, social change, and the public good through community-based learning, guest speakers from the area, and classroom readings and discussions.
National Learn and Serve, the Bonner Foundation, and the Mellon Civic Engagement fund supported community-based learning and research in a variety of disciplines. CBR funds through the National Community-Based Research Networking Inititative supported 12 Community Based Research Projects, in 5 Courses involving 105 students. Mellon support was instrumental in facilitating civic engagement components within the academic concentrations in Humanitarianism and Human Rights, Urban Studies, Global Citizenship, and Community and Global Health. Examples of civic engagement courses from last year include: Professor Jim Dawes' (English) “Justice” class worked with the local Society of Friends (Quaker) meeting to create resources on local organizations promoting nonviolence and peace. Professor Devavani Chatterjea's (Biology)”Immunology” course created science lessons for students at the nearby charter school, the Laura Jeffrey Academy. Professor Laura Smith's (Geography) “Advanced Cartography and Urban GIS” class worked with two community organizations to map and analyze home foreclosures, economic development, transportation, and community assets in North Minneapolis. Professor Dianna Shandy's (Anthropology) class on “Darfur: Conflict and Human Rights” allowed students to undertake humanitarian and human rights projects. Professor Teresa Mesa's (Hispanic and Latin American Studies) classes continued collaborating with the nonprofit Centro on a digital storytelling project that is documenting multigenerational Latino experiences in Minneapolis.
In August, American Studies Professor Karin Aguilar-San Juan and Paul Schadewald co-led the annual summer Urban Faculty Colloquium, funded by the Mellon Grant, to deepen the college's values of multiculturalism, service, and internationalism through an engagement with Macalester's urban location. Thirteen faculty members from nine departments participated in the colloquium, which focused on University Avenue, a commercial corridor in St. Paul that is being redeveloped through the creation of a light rail transit network. Faculty members met with community organizations, explored themes of immigration, completed an introduction to public art in St. Paul, and worked with photographer Wing Young Huie, known for his work on Frogtown and who is completing a new multimedia project on University Avenue. Professors explored ways to integrate practices of urban engagement into their courses. During the academic year, the participants had opportunities to meet and share progress on course development.
In March, the Institute for Global Citizenship hosted the regional meeting of Imagining America, a national consortium of colleges and universities committed to public scholarship in the arts, humanities, and design. The regional meeting drew participants from eight colleges and universities, four community arts organizations, and the Minnesota and National Campus Compact. The meeting engaged the themes of civic engagement in professional academic life, advancement, tenure, and models for campus-community partnerships in the arts.
On-campus Departmental Relationships Several key cross departmental partnerships were strengthened as implementation of Bonner occurred. The Bonner Coordinator was asked to participate in the Opportunities Abound Committee as a means of further strengthening ties between civic engagement, multiculturalism and college access. Staff representatives from the MAX Center for Academic Excellence, Department of Multicultural Life, Admissions, Financial Aid and the Civic Engagement Center are part of this committee.
Through the participation on this committee and a deeper understanding of Bonner enhancements were made to the prospective student sampler weekends giving the Bonner program an opportunity to showcase the program and talk with prospective students about the Bonner opportunity. Also changes in enrichment and training will be made for next year due to a closer working relationship with the MAX Center to focus on providing a solid framework assisting first generation college students in adjusting to life and academics at Macalester.
Unique Initiatives In June the Civic Engagement Center moved locations. We moved into the newly built, Markim Hall, which houses the Institute for Global Citizenship (IGC). The IGC houses the CEC, the International Center and the Internship Program. Markim Hall was built under LEED guidelines and we are seeking platinum status, the highest level of certification. We are proud that the building construction and operation models the values of citizenship consistent with the programming of the building.
This year Project Pericles held daylong workshops, called “Debating for Democracy” (D4D on the Road), at 12 Periclean campuses across the country. On November 1, Macalester hosted a daylong interactive workshop promoting skill building on important policy issues, forming coalitions, and advocating for their issue with elected officials.
In February, the Corporation for National and Community Service once again named Macalester College to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll With Distinction for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth. The Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Macalester’s Civic Engagement Program was profiled in Beyond the Books, A Guide to Service-Learning, a new guidebook for high school students making college choices. In addition, our Lake Street public history project was given a full-page write up as an example of educational “best practices” in urban areas.
The IGC is pleased to have developed a partnership with World Savvy, a national organization that is new to the Twin Cities. World Savvy educates youth about local and world affairs to live as global citizens. In April, the IGC hosted the first annual World Affairs Challenge, attended by 200 middle and high school students. Congresswoman Betty McCollum and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar gave remarks at the event to recognize the students’ hard work on their presentations on the theme of Human Migration. Karin Trail-Johnson gave a welcome from the college. Macalester students served as assistant coaches preparing the youth for the event.
In the spring the IGC holds the campus-wide, Civic Forum. This year Dr. Linell Cady, Franca G. Oreffice Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at Arizona State University, addressed the question of Religion in the American Public Square. Macalester students Aurora Sekine ’09, Andy Ver Steegh ’09, Liza Baer ’09, and Sher Afgan Tareen ’11 presented papers to which Professors Jane Rhodes (Dean for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and Chair of American Studies) and Ahmed Samatar, Dean of the IGC responded. After the sessions the IGC Student Council held an “Sustain the Conversation” gathering of students and local professionals in relgious life to discuss theory to practice.
100 PROJECTS FOR PEACE The program, in its third year, honors philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis, who launched the initiative on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2007. Designed to support motivated youth to create and implement their ideas for building peace throughout the world in the 21st century, 100 projects selected from 81 colleges in the Davis United World College Scholar Program received $10,000 for implementing the project during the summer of 2009. Awarded to Douglas Mapondera ‘11 Project: Mapondera, a native of Zimbabwe, will use his award to refurbish the irrigation infrastructure in Vuka Resettlement Community of Zimbabwe, an eight-year-old village of about 700 people. The objective is to provide a sustainable source of income to Vuka villagers. Creating a reliable water supply is the strategy so they can farm lucrative cash crops, improve local standards of life, and receive foreign currency inflow. Other objectives include creating a Project Fund to which beneficiaries can make monthly contributions to protect and maintain the equipment and improve food security thereby producing ample food year-round.
Serve 2.0Please 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):
Civic Engagement Center Web-site: http://www.macalester.edu/cec/index.html The primary use of our web-site is to communicate information to the Macalester Community and broader public. Applications to apply for Bonner, for student employment positions within our office as well as off-campus student employment are posted on our web-site. Students can also access pdfs of recommended service sites in a variety of issue areas.
Civic Engagement Center Wiki: http://macalestercec.pbworks.com A wiki is a new form of technology and communication that we have worked on developing this summer. It is expected that the wiki will be a forum for student leaders to communicate, interact and disseminate information about their issue areas and service opportunities.
Macalester Bonner Wiki: http://macalestercec.pbworks.com/Bonner-Scholars It is expected that this will be a forum for Bonners to interact, share and communicate information about their service sites and experiences as well as to engage in training and enrichment.
Macalester Policy Options Wiki: http://policyoptions.pbworks.com/Pilot+Project+Profile+-+Macalester+College Primarily to be used by students involved in a class or fellowship opportunity. We should have a couple policy briefs started this summer by Bonners and non-Bonners.
Civic Engagement Center Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Paul-MN/Macalester-College-Civic-Engagement-Center/51858192711?ref=ts Macalester College has a Twitter feed and the CEC has been asked to provide content. We will provide content for the feed but have decided not to use as a medium for the CEC. The CEC will use Blogs as part of the Wikis and will use YouTube to post videos made by student leaders and Bonners about service sites and as a form of training and enrichment.
Campus Issue ProfilesAdd links to your completed or draft campus issue profiles here:
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