2009 ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
Please add narrative text that responds to the questions in the four categories below.
Google Documents & Calendar: In line with the Bonner Foundation’s Serve 2.0 initiative to use online tools and social media to bolster programming, the program staff and the Student Leadership Team (SLT) used Google Docs as the hub for documents that needed to be accessible to users. Google Docs were used for program planning of the first-year trip and orientation as well as Sophomore Exchange. Google Docs were also used to design and distribute program evaluations and create a presentation for a national conference. The Google calendar was also used as a clearinghouse of all Bonner-related events that Bonners could attend as training and enrichment.
Groups page: In fall 2008, BSP began using the University’s Groups page as the main information hub for Bonner students and staff. The page housed an up-to-date Bonner news section, program calendar, videos about student-attended conferences and monthly meetings, discussion forums, and downloadable forms for students.
Video Technology: Flip cams provided opportunities to create several videos in spring 2009. All Bonner Monthly Meetings were recorded and uploaded to the Groups page so that Bonners who missed any meeting could view the content and post a response. Bonner Congress representatives and the Bonner Congress Student Planning Team created videos to advertise Bonner Congress 2009 to our on campus Bonner community and to the Bonner network at SLI. Lastly, Bonner Video Liaison Paige Wigginton used footage from the monthly meetings and Social Justice Roundtable programs to create a Bonner program overview video.
First-Year Trip
Twenty-six Bonners participated in the first-year trip in rural Harrisonburg, Va., for three days and two nights. They focused on hunger, homelessness, and intergenerational care. The participants logged 299 service hours and 104 educational hours combined. They served at four nonprofits and learned from nine nonprofit and city employees through panels and guided reflection. Students learned how rural areas address social issues while they strengthened relationships within their cohort.
Sophomore Exchange
Sophomore Exchange created stronger bonds between Bonners at three institutions of higher education in Virginia—University of Richmond, Lynchburg College, and Ferrum College— and taught all 50 participants about homelessness and hunger in Richmond. Participants engaged in 150 hours of service combined and 125 hours of combined educational activities, such as policy brief discussion, lectures, and group reflection. Participants served at four nonprofits and engaged with five community educators.
Junior Journey
Twelve juniors participated in the inaugural Junior Journey. The students selected rural education as the issue area of interest, and two juniors served in leadership roles to coordinate a day of education in Martinsville, Va., around this topic. The day included a visit to the Natural History Museum of Virginia, roundtable discussions with practitioners, and a panel of policy makers.
Presentations of Learning
All 22 seniors participated in the Presentations of Learning. This year's new format involved visual displays from each participant as well as a short presentation. More than 50 members of the campus and greater community attended the presentations.
Exploration: Thirty first-year and replacement Bonner Scholars participated in the exploration process during fall 2008. Participating Bonners ranked the social issues most important to them and were matched with three service sites that focused on those issues. Each first-year or replacement Bonner shadowed an upper-class Bonner or was partnered with another first-year or replacement Bonner in order to explore three different service sites for four week periods. Students were also encouraged to visit sites in which they had interest but where they did not shadow, as well as participate in a networking event to which all sites were invited and approximately 15 participated. At the end of the fall semester, first-year and replacement Bonners indicated their top three choices of service sites where they wished to serve permanently. The BSP coordinator, in collaboration with site supervisors, placed the 30 participating students at 14 sites prior to the spring 2009 semester.
Orientation: Eleven site partners attended the Service Site Orientation offered in August 2008. The BSP staff facilitated the orientation and provided an overview of the BSP as well as expectations of students and service sites. None of the attendees in 2008 attended the 2007 orientation, moving BSP closer to the goal of having every site supervisor attend the training at least once.
Site visits: The BSP director and coordinator conducted official site visits with 22 of 25 (88%) sites hosting Bonners in 2008-09. BCCE staff representing BSP, RFI, CBL, Build It, and College Mentors conducted joint site visits with overlapping partners. Staff used a universal site visit form in order to document and share consistent information.
Co-educator opportunities: Two community partners participated in our recommitment ceremony in December to articulate to Bonners the impact their work makes on the community at large. Three partners participated in BSP co-sponsored small conversations--one that addressed the economy and its effect on nonprofits and the other focused on empowering all student volunteers to claim their own developmental opportunities with a service site.
Justice & Civil Society course: The BSP collaborated with the Jepson School of Leadership Studies to place 22 first-year Bonner Scholars in four sections of “Justice & Civil Society” in spring 2009. The Bonner coordinator audited the class in order to understand the relevancy of the course to the experiences of Bonner Scholars. The Bonner coordinator and professors teaching the course engaged Bonners in discussions and one-on-one meetings about the connections between course content and service. Bonners reflected on their “Justice & Civil Society” experience in their first cycle write-up and in the BSP end-of-year program evaluation.
Bonner Advisor Corps: BSP launched the Bonner Advisor Corps in fall 2008 by working with Academic Advising to intentionally assign first-year Bonners to 15 targeted advisors. The goal was to expand the support network for Bonners in their first year by educating their advisors about BSP and to provide increased encouragement to connect BSP and Bonners’ academic and career goals.
Community-based learning: During the 2008-09 academic year, community-based learning had its own support program with a full-time manager for the first time. The CBL program at UR takes a broad-based approach to defining courses as community-based learning, including under its umbrella courses with a one-time community component such as a field trip to courses requiring students to participate in weekly service to courses with a community-based research or project component to courses requiring students to complete an internship. This broad definition of community-based learning allows faculty to fully match their content objectives with community-identified needs. Thirteen faculty members, representing all five schools (arts & sciences, law, business, leadership, continuing studies) participated in a two-day workshop to learn about community-based learning and to develop their own CBL classes. The faculty fellows participated in a yearlong faculty-learning community in which they discussed the progress of their CBL classes, considered the role of CBL in the new University strategic plan, and created content for a new website, by CBL faculty, for CBL faculty, offering insights and support. Through 42 CBL classes, a total of 958 students participated in CBL.
Student fellowships: The CCE awards two types of civic fellowships to students on a competitive basis. The David D. Burhans Civic Fellowship program, inaugurated in 2005, was established to honor University chaplain emeritus David Burhans by providing funding for students completing otherwise-unpaid, academically grounded 10-week summer internships in the nonprofit or government sectors. The Deborah L. Marsh Civic Fellows program, inaugurated in 2009, was created to honor the memory of community-service advocate and former Meals on Wheels president Deborah L. Marsh to support one student each summer in an otherwise-unpaid, academically grounded 10-week internship at a nonprofit organization in Greater Richmond. Two Bonner Scholars were among the seven 2008-09 civic fellow recipients.
The CCE also offers competitive 10-week paid summer fellowships that support independent student research and faculty-student collaborative research projects. These competitive grants are awarded to projects that ask questions addressing the nature of society today and how to effect change in social, cultural, legal, environmental, or political spheres. Fellows will submit their research in late August, present their findings at a BCCE research symposium in January, and continue to work toward publication and/or presentations during the 2009-10 school year. The BCCE staff works with fellows to disseminate their findings to community partners who may benefit from the research. One of the seven 2008-09 research fellows was a Bonner Scholar.
University strategic plan: Community engagement was named one of five principles in the strategic plan, allowing for greater coordination of community engagement across campus (in which the CCE will undoubtedly play an integral role) and elevating the importance of meangingful, two-way impact between University of Richmond and the greater Richmond community.
University of Richmond Downtown (URD): URD serves as an innovative resource for educating students, faculty, and staff from all academic departments, offices, and programs of the University and connecting them with the Greater Richmond community. When URD opened its doors in the heart of the city in January 2009, it became a vibrant hub of activity featuring public lectures, undergraduate and law classes, clinical and pro bono legal services, community-based research, and a public gallery. URD is a collaborative effort supported by the University and its community partners. It houses three programs from the University’s BCCE and Law School: The Richmond Families Initiative (BCCE), The Harry L. Carrico Center for Pro Bono Service (Law School), The Jeanette S. Lipman Family Law Clinic, Law School (Law School in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University). Along with these programs, URD serves as a center for collaboration with nonprofit and government entities and supports the University’s commitment to community engagement.
For security purposes, we cannot provide a link to our campus-based Ning page, which is hosted by the University of Richmond and subject to the applicable policies. This page, known as the Bonner Scholars Groups page, was the hub of "all things BSP"--from FYIs to calendars to important forms, the Bonner community found just about everything on this page. Click here to see sample screen shots.
Please see the Student Development section above for other examples of Serve 2.0 initiatives.