CAMPUS NAME AND ADDRESS
Ripon College
300 Seward Street
Ripon, WI 54971
http://www.ripon.edu/
CAMPUS AT A GLANCE
Ripon College educates students of diverse interests for lives of productive socially responsible citizenship. Our liberal arts curriculum and residential campus create an intimate learning community in which students experience a richly personalized education.
As the birthplace of the anti-slavery Republican Party, Ripon College has a strong history of progressive community engagement. Our flourishing Bonner Leader program is part of the reason the Princeton Review's 2009 edition ranked Ripon third in the nation for great town-gown relations. Ripon College has also been named to the President's Community Service Honor Roll for multiple years in a row.
KEY FACTS
Location: 1 1/2 hours from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Enrollment: 1,050 students
Academics: Nationally-recognized liberal arts college with 31 majors and 37 minors
Community Engagement: Recognition from the President's Community Service Honor Roll, Washington Monthly, Princeton Review, and The Guide to Service-Learning Colleges and Universities
BONNER PROGRAM AT A GLANCE:
Name of Campus-Wide Center: Office of Community Engagement
Relevant websites: http://www.ripon.edu/OCE/ http://riponoce.pbwiki.com
Type of Program: Bonner Leaders
Year Began: 2005
Bonner Program website: http://www.ripon.edu/offices_resources/OCE/Bonner.htm
Number of Bonner Leaders: 34
Active in Bonner AmeriCorps Ed Award: 24
Active in Other AmeriCorps Ed Award: 0
Active in Learn & Serve CBR: 0
Active in FIPSE Civic Ed Certificate/Minor: No, but offer a minor in Civic Advocacy; We are also partnering with the Ethical Leadership Program for the '09-'10 school year, which offers a Leadership Certification
KEY CONTACTS
President: David C. Joyce
Bonner Director: Deano Pape
AmeriCorps*VISTA: Sarah Brown
Bonner Senior Intern(s): April Agamaite (Ripon '10), Sara Heim (Ripon '09), Pachia Xiong (Ripon '09)
Bonner Congress Representatives: April Agamaite, Second Representative to be elected at Bonner Fall Orientation
More intern descriptions are available at the RiponOCE wiki.
MORE ABOUT US
We partner with about 20 key local nonprofits and place our strongest emphasis on student leadership in every facet of our office. We've grown to almost 40 Bonner Leaders this year and are ready to launch our site-based model. We hold individual advising sessions three times per semester and have a year-long academic course for first year Bonners. We hold training sessions through three multi-day retreats, an immersion trip, and an exchange trip for deeper training experiences. Students serve not only as coordinators for each one of our partnering sites, but also hold more advanced leadership roles as directors of those coordinators, leaders of our endeavors into policy research, nonprofit consulting, and outreach, and as senior interns. We are proud of our students' interactions with social justice issues in the community through their service and through research, in areas such as education and local food politics.
2009 ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
2008 - 2009 Highlights
This academic year our Bonner Program changed its student leadership structure from a team-based model to tackle broader issues in the community (such as Hunger and Homelessness or Education) to a model where each partner has one student leader, or site coordinator, to serve as its primary contact. This model pushed Bonners of all years to develop their leadership styles and gave our community partners a clearer sense of student service goals. To manage our 15 site coordinators, two Cluster Leaders managed student hour logs, regularly checked in with leaders, and encouraged site coordinators to plan new and engaging events at their sites. The students took full ownership of these positions this year, and carved out their own roles at their sites and in the office. One second year student in particular developed innovative, creative ideas in her new position and at the end of the year; the office staff has her rewrite the definition of her position to include her own leadership strategies and ideas.
The office’s student Outreach Team was very successful this academic year. During SLI 2008, students and administrators agreed at the Ripon College Office of Community Engagement needed to reach out to all students at the college, and not just Bonners, to advertise leadership, service, and personal development opportunities. The Outreach Team of three or four students achieved exactly that with advertising campaigns that spanned Facebook, radio, video, a new brochure, personalized letters, emails, and creative flyer designs, as well as educational and fun events for all student service organizations. The Outreach Team also marketed toward community-based agencies, with the goal to make the OCE a hub for information, resources and volunteerism in the City of Ripon as well. The Outreach Team raised funds for community partners and disseminated information defining the OCE as a place for community members to volunteer themselves or staff their nonprofit with student volunteers.
For past updates and initiatives, click here.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.