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: 

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

The Training and Enrichment (T&E) structure of the Program was overhauled this year, now comprising up to 40% of the Scholars’ hours. This shift has enabled Bonners to effectively anchor their direct service experiences to an educational framework.  T&E was comprised of many different elements (listed below), some mandatory, but many of which were chosen based on a student’s particular interests.  UR events and community events required a one-page write-up from individual Scholars, reflecting on the event, their personal thoughts, and the program’s connection to their Bonner experience. 

*Denotes a mandatory element

 

·   *Bonner Dinners - Planned weekly Bonner Dinners were an opportunity for Bonners to dine together while reflecting on the BSP and getting to know each other, particularly across class years.

·   *Bonner Monthly Meetings - Bonners were required to attend each monthly meeting.  The first half of the meetings included program announcements, ice breakers, “shout outs” for Scholars’ accomplishments, and a presentation of the “Superstar Bonner” award to the month’s stand-out Scholar. The second half of each meeting included speakers and activities focused on the six Common Commitments.  Each class also met every other month with programming that focused on the 5 E’s.

·    Bonner Trainings - Trainings were offered monthly, focusing on specific skill sets.  There were also mandatory trainings for first-year Bonners in the fall, which served as “extended orientation sessions.”

·   Community Events – Educational in nature, community events provided additional insights into important social issues.  Examples included town hall meetings, City Council meetings, and forums held on other local campuses. These events served as a way to encourage students to connect with the city and communities around them. 

·   Conference(s) - Bonner Scholars participated in various Bonner-approved conferences including The Allies Institute (formerly known as Collegetown), the PowerShift Conference, the Black Student Leadership Conference, and Bonner Congress.

·   *First-Year Orientation – First-year and replacement Bonners attended an overnight orientation retreat which built community, provided an overview of the mission, goals, and principles of the BSP, and began preparing students for their service and other responsibilities.  Senior Interns served as Bonner Orientation Advisors, leading activities and giving student perspectives on the BSP.

·   *First-Year Trip – First-year Scholars and the BSP staff went on a four-day service and experiential learning excursion to Philadelphia.  The trip was extremely successful thanks to direct service in the Fairmount Park system of Philadelphia, a visit from the Foundation staff (Bobby), a neighborhood bus tour led by an urban studies professor from the University of Pennsylvania, two fantastic speakers from local non-profits, bonding, reflecting on the year, and even a ghost tour of the city.

·   *One-on-One Meetings - One-on-one meetings were held at the beginning of each semester.  First- year and sophomore students met with the Coordinator, and juniors and seniors with the Director to discuss service, academic, and career goals.

·   *Presentation of Learning (POL) - Each senior was required to share a POL and all Scholars were required to attend at least one evening of presentations (on which there were four to six presenters).  Each presenter gave a seven to ten minute presentation and then the entire presenting group gave final thoughts.  POLs were attended by on and off campus constituents.

·   *Reflection - Students were required to regularly (approximately 30 minutes weekly) engage in written or artistic reflection.  Reflection came in many forms: journaling, poetry, etc.  This reflection process will ultimately become the basis of future (POLs) and will allow Scholars to create a record of their Bonner experiences that can become a part of their overall UR portfolio. 

·   Service Blitzes - Blitzes were typically one-time service opportunities sought out and chosen by students.  These included alternative spring break trips, school clean-ups, community fairs, etc.  The blitzes were an effective way to support students’ involvement in organizations, festivals, and short-term events not directly related to their service sites.

·   *Sophomore Exchange - This year’s event involved three Bonner programs in addition to UR—Lynchburg College, Ferrum College, and Washington & Lee University all convening at Lynchburg Grows.  Icebreakers, mulching and planting, and discussions about sustainable and local agriculture were all part of the day, which emphasized large-scale networking, serving, and reflecting.

·   *UniverCity Day and ENRICHmond - Organized by the BCCE, this day was full of events including a bus tour of the City of Richmond, discussions with faculty and staff on social issues, visits to local non-profit organizations, and an on-campus, outdoor fair showcasing opportunities for community-based learning, service, coursework and research in Richmond.  Bonners and non-Bonners alike participated in these events which were required for first-year Bonners and recommended to upperclass Bonners.

·   UR Events - UR events were informational in nature, providing additional insights on important social justice issues.  Examples included BCCE Brown Bag lunches, One Book-One Campus dialogues, and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies/Women Involved in Living and Learning Speaker Series. 

 

Implementation of Community Partnerships: 

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

Service Site Selection

Early on, it seemed that service sites had been disconnected from the BSP as a whole.  Service site supervisors knew they were getting great volunteers but did not understand that the BSP is bigger than direct service—knowledge of the student development plan, monthly/class meetings, Training and Enrichment, etc. was simply nonexistent.  Thus, the BSP Director spent time in the fall meeting individually with returning sites to explain the scope of the BSP, to gain a better understanding of the needs of the service sites, and to determine synergistic points for sites and Scholars.  Out of these conversations came a service site selection process, where service sites completed an application prompting them to think proactively about the opportunities they might provide Scholars over a three-year period.  This application provided the SDM and common commitments as context so that service sites could think about the win-win situation of providing developmental opportunities for students while creating a sustainable pipeline of reliable volunteers for their respective organizations.

 

Ongoing opportunities with service sites were key to building on the foundation of the application process and initial site visits.  Service site supervisors eagerly attended the Service Site Orientation to hear best practices from other sites and shepherded new Scholars who shadowed at their sites for 4-6 weeks before choosing a permanent BSP service site.  The BSP Coordinator also conducted spring service site visits to obtain reflective feedback from site supervisors and to continue strengthening BSP-site partnerships.

 

Service Shuttle

Given the University’s suburban location, support for transportation to service sites was crucial.  The BSP supplemented Scholars’ bus tickets and personal car mileage out of its administrative overhead budget.  Those students (Bonners and non-Bonners) without cars who served at sites not on the bus line had the option of utilizing the BCCE Service Shuttle.  In fall of ’07 the shuttle transported 59 students to an average of 8 sites daily, while in spring of ’08 the drivers made an estimated 13 site visits daily, carrying 57 students. The students were divided almost evenly between Bonner students and Build It students.  The Build It and Bonner sites were distributed throughout the city, though there was a concentration on Richmond’s Northside where the BCCE has built strong, sustained relationships as part of Build It, the University’s long-term civic engagement initiative. There was one part-time driver in 2007 and due to the popularity of the shuttle service, the BCCE added another part-time driver in spring ’08.

 

Along with their regular routes, the drivers made 17 trips to support requests from outside the Bonner and Build It programs.  For example, the BCCE shuttle took a faculty member and her CORE students to the Slave Trail, shuttled a history class to the Virginia Historical Society, and took a Leadership class to the First Freedom Center.  The shuttle also ran additional routes from February 27 through April 19 from Wednesday through Saturday to support the University of Richmond house build in Richmond's Northside.

 

Co-educational opportunities

Community partners participated in a number of educational programs with Bonners.  Representatives from Boaz and Ruth along with senior Corrie Mixon (the Bonner serving at this site) spoke with students about the challenges facing ex-offenders after prison release at a monthly meeting.  A staff member of the William Byrd Community House presented information to the sophomore class about local farming initiatives to prepare them for Sophomore Exchange.  Two program coordinators from Churchill Activities and Tutoring facilitated a campus-wide training on volunteer management.  Lastly, all service sites were invited to (and about 50% attended) the inaugural Speed Networking event to educate first-year Bonners and non-Bonners about their respective sites and volunteer opportunities.

 

Campus-wide Culture and Infrastructure: 

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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):

Making the connection between the BCCE and BSP was a top priority.  Drs. Doug Hicks and Amy Howard, Executive Director and Director of the BCCE respectively, visited the first- year Scholars prior to the start of the academic year to ensure that new Scholars understood that, organizationally, we are linked even though the offices are located in different physical locations on campus.  This casual lunch made the BCCE immediately accessible to first-year Scholars.  Drs. Hicks and Howard also participated in one of the fall Monthly Meetings.  They reinforced the organizational and educational connections between the BCCE and BSP while presenting on BCCE initiatives that were open to the entire campus community including Build It, the Burhans Civic Fellows Program, and the Research Fellows Program.  Due at least in part to the explicit links drawn early on between the BCCE and BSP several Bonners participated in these BCCE campus-wide opportunities:

·         10 Scholars served at Build It sites and 3 rising sophomore Scholars will make one of these organizations their permanent service site in fall 2008

·         1 of the 9 Burhans Civic Fellows is a Bonner Scholar

·         1 of the 7 Research Fellows is a Bonner Scholar

The direct linkage to the BCCE has created a firm foundation for stronger academic connections next year.  Relationship-building with the academic advising office will result in a corps of faculty advisors dedicated to Bonner Scholars who have not declared majors, increasing the opportunities for Scholars to connect their Bonner and academic experiences early in their academic careers.  Fruitful connections with the Jepson School of Leadership Studies will result in enrollment of the Class of 2012 in the first required Bonner Scholars course on “Justice and Civil Society.”

 

Bonner representation across campus exemplified campus-wide relationships that blossomed during this academic year.  Bonners were quite visible during the President’s inaugural events—Andrea Willis was a student speaker during the convocation and seniors Eric Van Der Hyde and Sarah Potter constructed the winning EcoSpider, the President’s initiative (coordinated by the BCCE) to raise awareness about recycling and sustainability.  Several senior Bonner Scholars also served as speakers during the 2007 Commencement exercises.  The BSP staff also served in leadership capacities throughout the UR community, increasing the visibility of the BSP campus-wide.  The BSP Coordinator served on the selection committee for Projects for Peace, an initiative of the Davis United World College Scholars Program established to encourage and motivate youth to create and implement their ideas for building peace in the world.  The BSP Director and one of the BCCE Directors were named as members of the President’s strategic plan working groups while the other BCCE Director was named to the strategic plan steering committee. Together we have been charged to put forth goals and action steps that address the plan’s five principles.  We were also proud to have the BSP represented during admissions’ Accepted Students Weekend, with four Bonners hosting an informal lunch for accepted BSP applicants and their parents.

 

Excitedly, UR staff from across campus participated in BSP-centered activities as well, further exemplifying the campus-wide connections BSP was able to make during the 2007-08 academic year.  UR’s Acting Chaplain Kate O’Dwyer Randall and Melissa Ooten, Assistant Director of UR’s Women Involved in Living and Learning Program, each facilitated an All Bonner Monthly Meeting.  Joe Testani of the campus Career Development Center facilitated a Bonner training on résumé writing and portfolio building while Diana Vincelli, UR’s Director of Grant Support, Foundation, Corporate and Government Relations, encouraged students to write thoughtful community fund proposals while building a skill useful to non-profits by facilitating a training program on grant writing.