The Washington Center Honors Universities, Political Leaders and Champions of Academic Internships and Civic Engagement

WASHINGTON – September 23, 2011 – To commemorate 36 years of providing academic internships in the nation’s capital to students worldwide, The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars hosts its annual gala October 3, 2011 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC at 6 p.m. Luke Russert, NBC News Correspondent and the son of the legendary journalist, Tim Russert will lead the event as Master of Ceremonies and join The Washington Center in recognizing three distinguished political leaders. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Representative Harold “Hal” Rogers (R-KY) and Governor Juan José Sabines Guerrero of the State of Chiapas,…

Middlebury College Draws Young Donors With Microphilanthropy

When she was a student at Middlebury College, Ansally N. Kuria learned that raising money is no cakewalk. Working as a phone-athon caller for the annual fund, Ms. Kuria occasionally received rude responses, she says, and spoke with alumni who felt uncomfortable giving, since they could offer only a small contribution. But through a program that Middlebury started last spring, she has also seen how generous the college’s network can be…

The Case for More College Grads

Inside Higher Ed.com has announced (6/27/2011) a new report from Anthony Carnevale and the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, making the case that the U.S. needs 20 million more college-educated workers by 2025. To read more about his report, click here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/06/27/report_makes_case_that_u_s_needs_more_college_going_citizens

Nation’s Top Colleges for Community Service Receive Presidential Recognition

May 12, 2011   6 Institutions Receive Presidential Award, 641 Recognized Overall   Washington, D.C. – As colleges across the country honor their graduates this commencement season, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) today honored the nation’s leading institutions of higher education for their support of volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. Six colleges and universities received Presidential Awards in the 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to community service. The Corporation for National and Community Service, which has administered the Honor Roll since 2006,…

Advancing Student Success by Attending to the Whole Student at Mercy College

William Martinov Jr., executive director of institutional advancement at Mercy College, notes a reality that nearly everyone in higher education acknowledges: students’ experiences in college can be very fragmented. “Higher education is ‘siloed.’ There are passionate people in student life, in the financial aid office, in academic advising. But they’re not seeing the whole student,” he says. And for a first-time, first-generation college freshman, such fragmentation might mean the difference between persisting to the second year and dropping out. That’s why Mercy College, a private institution with about 4,000 undergraduates in Dobbs Ferry, New York, started its Personal Achievement Contract…

The rapid rise of service learning

In the 1991-92 school year, three Penn faculty members taught 100 students in four Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) courses, classes that involve hands-on, real-world problem solving. By 2000-01, there were 38 courses taught by 34 faculty to 925 students. Data from the 2009-10 school year shows 1,575 students enrolled in 61 ABCS courses taught by 48 Penn faculty members.   The numbers tell a potent story: Service learning at Penn has grown in leaps and bounds. Two Penn faculty members say in a recent paper, “Pursuing Franklin’s Dream: Philosophical and Historical Roots of Service-Learning,” that the rise of service learning…

Three Purchase College Students Receive Chancellor Awards

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher presented Chancellor Awards to three Purchase College students at a ceremony that honored more than 300 college students from SUNY campuses throughout the state.   Candice DioGuardi, Biology; Francisco Donoso, Painting and Drawing; and Jennifer Urbanowski, New Media were the winners.  They were accompanied  by John Delate, Purchase College Associate Dean for Student Affairs.   “The students we honor today have excelled academically and taken advantage of what SUNY has to offer in and outside the classroom,” said Chancellor Zimpher.  These students are proven leaders, athletes, artists, community servants, and much more.  They represent the…

The Question of Whether Your Actions Will Matter Is a Harder One to Get Past

Erin Keefe, U. of Wisconsin-Madison Badger Herald Paul Rogat Loeb Enlarge Image By Lauren Sieben Paul Rogat Loeb has seen a big shift in students’ attitudes toward political activism since he protested the Vietnam War at Stanford University in the early 1970s. His most recent book, Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in Challenging Times, is well read among student activists and is now in its second edition, with more than 100,000 copies in print, many in college classrooms. He has spoken to students about civic and political activism at more than 400 campuses since the early 1980s. Although many…

New multicultural initiative launches

Q.C. Community Engagement Consortium announces inaugural event

QC Community Engagement Consortium inaugural event rescheduled The February inaugural event of the Quad City Community Engagement Consortium was cancelled because of the winter storm with record snowfall. It has been rescheduled for Friday, April 15. An inaugural event of the Quad City Community Engagement Consortium (QC CEC) is rescheduled for Friday, April 15, from 3 to 6 p.m., at the Deere-Wiman Carriage House, 1105 – 8th Street, Moline, IL. College and university leaders are expected to attend this collaborative effort among public and private institutions of higher learning in the Quad City region for the purposes of civic education…

** Presidents Leadership Summit **

On October 12 & 13, 2010, at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Campus Compact convened member college and university presidents to collectively plan how to respond to President Obama’s call to action that every child has access to a complete and competitive college education to succeed in the global workplace. More Information Other resources for member presidents: Read A Promising Connection: Increasing College Access and Success through Civic Engagement, Campus Compact’s recently-published new white paper about the potential for community/campus civic engagement to enhance student access to and success in college. Access Christine Cress’ presentation summarizing the authors’ findings in A Promising Connection. Read…

Laurie Laird, of Santa Clara University, Named California Campus Compact’s 2011 Richard E. Cone Award Recipient

California Campus Compact is pleased to announce Ms. Laurie Laird, Associate Director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education at Santa Clara University, as the recipient of the 2011 Richard E. Cone Award for Excellence & Leadership in Cultivating Community Partnerships in Higher Education. Each year the Richard E. Cone Award is bestowed upon an individual who has made significant contributions to the development of partnerships between institutions of higher education and communities. For more than a decade, Ms. Laird has been a tireless advocate of human rights and community-based learning, building strong and sustainable partnerships between the University and…

Service And Sustenance

After graduating from Grand Valley State University, April Meyers had a simple yet noble goal: land a job in Metro Detroit where she could use her skills to help others. While fellow students chose to move to larger cities with more opportunities for graduates, Meyers decided to return and make a difference. She saw the AmeriCorps VISTA program not only as a means to fulfill her desire to help others, but also as a way to establish her professional roots in Metro Detroit. The program placed Meyers at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, where this spring she will unveil a campus food pantry and…

2011 SENCER Summer Institute to be held at Butler University July 21-25

Butler University is pleased to host the 2011 SENCER Summer Institute on July 21-25.  Registration information, deadlines for team applications and more information about SENCER programs and its institutes are available at the SENCER website, www.sencer.net. SENCER – Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities – is a signature program of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. It supports an ever-growing community for faculty, students, academic leaders and others working to improve undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics education by connecting learning to critcal civic questions. “Butler’s involvement with the SENCER program has helped to create new…

Press Release: Purchase College Receives Presidential Award for Baccalaureate & Beyond Community Mentoring Project

Purchase College, State University of New York, has been selected to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring for its Baccalaureate and Beyond Community College Mentoring Project.  This award is administered by the National Science Foundation. Since 2000, Purchase College, State University of New York has led an innovative and highly successful Community College mentoring  project  with the goal of increasing the number of community college students who complete their Associate’s degrees, transfer to four year colleges, and complete their Bachelor’s degrees in the sciences. The Program was started with an initial grant from the…

Bipartisan case for national service

You wouldn’t think that new Republican Govs. Nathan Deal of Georgia and Sam Brownback of Kansas would have much in common with the Democratic governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick. But all three have made volunteer “days of service” a centerpiece of their inaugurations. They are asking citizens to join them in feeding the hungry, assisting the jobless and helping their neighbors in a host of other ways. They join a growing number of governors and mayors who are rediscovering the untapped power of citizen service. These inaugural service events are not ceremonial gestures. They remind us that citizen service crosses…

Fifth Annual Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Award

University of Washington Head Wins National Education Award San Francisco, January 10, 2011 – University of Washington Interim President Phyllis M. Wang Wise has been selected by Asian Pacific Fund, a community foundation, as the recipient of the fifth annual Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Award. The awards program recognizes the professional accomplishments and leadership of Asian Americans in higher education. The endowed awards program honors the legacy of Chang-Lin Tien, the first Asian American to head a major American research university. Chang-Lin Tien served as Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley from 1990 to 1997 and was much admired as a teacher, scientist and administrator. He…

Northeastern Students4Giving and Haley House Team Up to Market Cookies

Congratulations to the members of the NS4G Club for their innovative partnership with Haley House of Roxbury. Their entrepreneurial approach to social change has just been profiled on boston.com. While this success story belongs to Haley House and the students, the Human Services Program would like to acknowledge and thank the many supporters on and off campus whose engagement makes NS4G possible.

Florida State to Launch the ‘Garnet and Gold Scholar Society’

Tallahassee, Florida –– The Florida State University will launch the Garnet and Gold Scholar Society, a new program that recognizes students who participate in multiple facets of campus and undergraduate opportunities. The society will encourage students to become well-rounded individuals while helping them become more attractive to potential employers. “Scholarship comes in many different forms, and not all of it is in the classroom,” said Florida State President Eric J. Barron. “I still want students to have an excellent GPA, but if you combine that degree from Florida State with meaningful experiences outside the classroom, they will be more likely…

Sociology Students Nationally Certified in Human Research – TNCC

Dr. Wilke (Sociology) engaged 97 students for future civic involvement. This is just another illustration of how Vol State is inculcating service learning into their curriculum. This inclusive engagement has direct multi-benefit for our students and the community at large. Download the Newsletter PDF and read the full article on page 3.