Saint Marys Annual Report 2007-2008


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):

A crucial achievement for CILSA is that the student development model is integrated throughout CILSA’s work; across all programs. 

           

I:  Prior to the start of our fall semester, 12 Bonner Leaders participated in a 5-day Orientation.  Initial community building activities were followed by creative reflections and discussions on the common commitments, charity and social justice, and the Lasallian mission of SMC.  At the height of the Orientation, the Bonner Leaders served as small group leaders for the New Student Orientation Day of Service.  Every two weeks, Bonner Leaders gathered together for Community Night.  This was an opportunity for students to reflect on their service and leadership and an avenue to receive training from campus and community partners.  Each Community Night focused on one or more of the Bonner common commitments. 

 

II:  Bonner Leaders had various opportunities to engage in a First-Year Trip in addition to the Orientation, which included a service immersion.  Four Bonner Leaders: Christopher Torres, Maricruz Zamora, Maria Hernandez, and Ana Solano utilized the Jan Term Christian Service Internship.  Each student was assigned to a specific service site (eg: inner city middle school, group home, ESL center, tutoring center) where they had the opportunity to serve and explore in depth their skills and gifts within the context of the community that they were serving.  Other opportunities that fulfilled the First-Year Trip were:  an ASB Habitat For Humanity build in Oregon, a Jan Term New Orleans course, and individually proposed trips and/or immersions that would take place during the summer.

 

III:  Four Bonner Leaders:  Tiffany Hickey, Irene Moon, Miyoshi Nanca, and Christopher Torres were able to attend Bonner Congress in Lynchburg, VA as the Second Year Exchange experience.  They were able serve alongside and network with peers from across the nation.  They came back with a renewed sense of commitment to Bonner Leader Program and shared that enthusiasm with the Bonner Leader who could not attend. 

 

IV:  Third Year Leadership Roles varied for Bonner Leaders.  Robert Farris, Ana Solano, and Irene Moon facilitated a workshop on the complexities of the issue of homelessness at a training and enrichment session.  Noelia Garcia recruited a civically engaged political refugee to share his personal story and insights on how to create positive social change: locally and globally.  Irene Moon coordinated a recycling drive on campus and donated the proceeds to St. Anthony Foundation, an organization that deeply impacted her during the Bonner Leader Orientation.  Maricruz Zamora planned and implemented the 1st annual 5k Run 4 Hunger, which focused on raising awareness, engagement, and finances for the issue of hunger.  These are just a few of the examples of the initiative and increased leadership roles that students embraced as they continued on the developmental model. 

 

V:  Senior Interns Marina Hernandez and Nina Pham collaborated with the Bonner Leader Program Coordinator Ryan Lamberton to successfully plan and implement the 5- day Orientation.  Marina Hernandez facilitated several training and enrichment sessions; she also presented a full workshop on the theory and practice of ‘service.’  Marina Hernandez initiated an on campus ESL program for St. Mary’s College cafeteria workers and prepared an action plan for future student leaders.  This project was tied to her senior capstone / thesis project as a Liberal and Civic Studies major. 

 

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):

 

CILSA works with over 35 organizations and agencies to engage students in both curricular and co-curricular service experiences (See Appendix B). The work of partnership development for courses is primarily done by the Coordinator of Community Partnerships. The Jumpstart Site Manager and the Coordinator of Community Engagement are responsible for sustaining partnerships for the Bonner AmeriCorps Program. The LEO Center includes a Bonner Leader as a site coordinator. The following is just one example of multi-faceted community partnerships that CILSA’s helps to foster.

 

Alameda Point Collaborative:  CILSA’s partnership with Alameda Point Collaborative (APC) began several years ago when students assisted APC in developing its community gardens project. The partnership has grown to include an ongoing commitment through our Saturday of Service Projects, including two Campus Bonner Leaders who assist in coordinating the service, course-based research about food security, and community based research, which tested for lead in water and soil. APC is the featured site for our Saturday of Service during new-student orientation, and APC’s Director of Community Resources served on the CILSA Advisory Council, which informed CILSA’s five-year priorities.

 

CILSA staff plans annual site visits with agencies with which we have more complex or deeper partnerships. Topics for these meetings include: updating any changes, assessing the successes and challenges with the course/program, reviewing Bonner Leader Program elements and FWS processes, and inviting ways in which the partners are co-educators with our faculty and staff. In FY 07-08 the Coordinator of Community Engagement created and implemented a written format for community partner agreements related specifically to the Bonner Leader Program. Community Partners who utilize Bonner Leaders have been very satisfied with this development.

 

In June of 2008, CILSA hosted its second Community Partner Gathering to engage community partners as a group. Approximately twenty community partner staff from six organizations and agencies attended to discuss ways in which CILSA can assist to foster mutually beneficial curricular and/or co-curricular experiences for community partners, students, and faculty. Those who attended continue to comment on its helpfulness in building relationships with staff and understanding how the College works. CILSA will develop a Community Partner Coalition in the upcoming academic year.

 

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):

 

CILSA’s reporting line to the Academic Vice-Provost continues to strengthen its ability to grow the presence of service-learning, community-based research and social justice topics in the curriculum, while also solidifying CILSA’s community service and leadership development programs. An organization charge is attached (Appendix C).

 

CILSA continues to strengthen its budget through close collaboration with the advancement office and its relationship with the Vice-Provost. In the Spring of 2008 new Director Marshall Welch collaborated with these colleagues and constituents to recruit three strong representatives to sit on the CILSA Development Board whose task is to secure long-term support for CILSA and social justice activities across campus. The inaugural meeting for the Development Board took place in June of 2008.

 

Service-learning, community-based research and policy courses continued to advance in FY08. Overall, 23 different faculty members offered over 25 courses with a community-based learning component. This growth has been greatly supported by the two-year grant received by the College from the AAC&U. The grant, “Walk the Talk: Educating Students for Personal and Social Responsibility,” contains both curricular and co-curricular elements. Over two years, the grant is fostering the development of 6 new January term service-learning courses, 6 new community-based research courses, and 10 social justice courses.

 

CILSA continues to be linked with multiple academic departments, January Term, student involvement and leadership, office of mission and ministry, financial aid, business and development offices, and campus entities such as the social justice coordinating committee and Cummins Institute for Catholic Culture, Thought, and Action. CILSA is the administrative hub for course-based social action though it remains ‘owned’ by faculty and academic departments across campus.

 

In the Spring of 2008 the social justice coordinating committee deliberated and agreed upon an institutional definitions of ‘service-learning,’ ‘social justice,’ and ‘community-based research.’  These definitions will be instrumental in further institutionalizing and engaged pedagogy across academic departments.

 

Out of a desire to understand the connections between liberal arts education, the Catholic mission of the College, the Justice and Community Minor convened a group of 12 faculty and staff for a two-day in-service about integrating Catholic Social Thought with engaged pedagogy with Keith Morton from Providence College. CILSA’s associate director will begin teaching in the Justice and Community Minor in FY09.

 

In FY08, approximately 40% of the student body engaged in service, and of those students, over 50% made at least a semester-long commitment. Students are engaged in leading service and guiding decisions about CILSA’s programs informally through ongoing relationships and formally through Bonner Intern roles and the Community Engagement Council.