The Urban Institute offers a regular feature section which exhibits stories that "go beyond the data." The most recent piece provides an apt overview of racial, educational, and poverty divides in DC and comments that all institutions in DC should be combating discrimination and systemic racism.
You can read the full article here.
The 2017 Service Engagement Summit for the Indiana Campus Compact hosted on February 27-28, 2017 has opened registration. There are a number of service-learning colleagues presenting their work. Highlighted presentations include award winner Kimberly Dark who will present Peace, Power, and Privilege which will discuss the power of kindness and awareness of oneself and others for a transformed experience. There will also be poster presentations, workshops, and resource roundtables to engage with others who are a part of the service-learning network.
You can register here to attend the Summit.
The Gulf South Summit 2017 hosted by the International Association for Research on Service-Learning & Community Engagement (IARSLCE) has released their call for program proposals. Submission deadlines are due December 9th, 2016.
For more information and accessing the application please visit their website.
The Nashman Center would absolutely encourage participation in this Institute.
Apply for grant funding to support you here (due Jan 9, 2017).
Applications to attend the Institute are due Feb 13, 2017 (applying early is encouraged).
The Institute on Project-Based Learning, a flagship offering of WPI’s Center for Project-Based Learning, is a 2.5-day intensive workshop where teams of five or more faculty and administrators from colleges and universities will gain knowledge about project-based learning and make tangible progress to integrate that knowledge into their own curricula. The institute curriculum is a mix of interactive workshops on project-based learning, consultations with institute faculty, and collaborative teamwork.
This is a great example of community engaged scholarship, from GW's Interior Architecture and Design program (Columbian College). Nancy Evans and Erica Riggio engaged their students in a redesign of the space for the Homeless Children's Playtime Project headquarters. In addition to applying their design skills, the students collected a stunning $40,000 worth of furniture donations to support the project. Congratulations to faculty and students involved in the project!
The project has been featured in both the GW Hatchet and in The Dupont Current (page 13)
Please forward to your students:
Got a great idea for social change? Need funding and support?
Join representatives from GW's leading Social Innovation Hubs to learn more about how you can receive funding to turn your great ideas into ACTION.
Monday, Nov 28th, 3pm, Multicultural Student Services Center (MSSC) room 209
Representatives from GWUpstart, Public Service Grant Commission, Eco-Equity Challenge, Knapp Fellowship for Entrepreneurial Service-Learning, and Clinton Global Initiative University will be present at the meeting.
Questions? Email jlbutler@email.gwu.edu.
This week’s (Nov 25, 2016) Chronicle of Higher Education included several pieces commenting on the implications of the presidential elections for higher education. One I found particularly compelling was by Erik Klinenberg, “Professors in a Post-Truth Era.” (Apologies for broken links - The Chronicle is subscription-only).
“There is one thing that universities must do better: teach students skills for learning, discerning, reasoning, and communicating in an informational environment dominated by quick hits on social media like Twitter and Facebook. Like it or not, social media is at the center of the new public sphere. This election leaves no doubt that candidates, campaigns, and their surrogates can make great use of it: planting memes, spreading rumors, building communities. Professors know how to help students work through difficult ideas in books and articles. But except for some of us in the learning sciences, few of us have thought much about how to help students develop critical-thinking skills for the media that they use most.”
- Eric Klinenberg, professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at NYU.
I do believe it is the charge of all who work in higher education to prepare students for their civic as well as their professional lives. Some have argued that the learning outcomes and skills for students' civic and professional lives are the same (critical thinking, communication, problem solving, etc.). But Klinenberg has pointed out that the context of this learning matters.
I do not believe that the charge to meet the public good aims of higher education requires that we completely re-design our courses. However, we do need to recommit to explicitly addressing the learning needed for the civic context of our students' lives, and whatever large or small shifts to our courses that requires.
As we reflect on the events that occurred last week, please review this list of resources for GWU students.
If someone you know at GW is in crisis, submit a CARE request!
If you need a safe space, the MSSC has opened its doors as a place of acceptance and safety
Multicultural Student Services Center
2127 G St NW
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-6772
GWU Mental Health Services
Marvin Center Ground Floor (same place as student health services)
800 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052
24/7 National Suicide Hotline
Phone hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Text chat: http://chat.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetHelp/LifelineChat.aspx
LGBTQ National Help Center Hotline
Trevor Project Youth LGBTQ Hotline
http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Eating Disorders Hotline
http://www.anad.org/get-help/eating-disorders-helpline/
24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline
24/7 National Sexual Assault Hotline
Text chat: https://hotline.rainn.org/online/terms-of-service.jsp
https://www.rainn.org/index.php
If you need someone to vent or talk to and none of these other resources apply to you, the 24/7 Samaritan hotline is a crisis hotline that accepts calls for any and all concerns:
Samaritan Hotline
Please help us to disseminate these resources to your students who may be in need.
A Washington Post article on how to engage students in civic education was posted on Saturday. The article has a couple of examples of current methods being used by faculty to teach about civic education. The article mostly focuses on civic education in the context of the recent election results. You can read all about Molly W. Andolina and Hilary G. Conklin's research as well as Steve Zemelman's research here.
Please circulate Knapp Fellowship applications widely to students! Undergraduate or graduate students selected as Knapp Fellows design and implement entrepreneurial service-learning projects that make a significant difference in the lives of others. Selected Knapp Fellows receive professional development on community engaged work, and are advised by a faculty member advisor as a content expert (faculty advisors also receive a small stipend). One or more Knapp Fellowships are awarded each year, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.
The Knapp Fellowships program includes two components: a scholarly research portion to inform the project, and the design and implementation of the entrepreneurial service-learning project itself. Fellowship activities are conducted over the coming academic year.
For further information, please contact Wendy Wagner at the Nashman Center: wagnerw@gwu.edu.
You are most welcome to join the good company of GW’s community-engaged faculty for some wine, nibbles, and informal time in good conversation.
Please feel free to come and go any time you are available from 4-6:30pm this Thursday, Nov 17th. We will be in “The Honey Room” in the Nashman Center - remember our new location at 837 22nd st.
Students should be encouraged to share the outcomes of their engagement for
Symposium formats include posters, facilitated roundtable discussions, and panel presentations.
For further information, please contact Wendy Wagner at the Nashman Center: wagnerw@gwu.edu.
The call for proposals for the Nashman Center’s annual faculty grants is available HERE. We encourage full-time or part-time faculty to propose an initiative for funding.
Grant funding is available to support
Community-engaged scholarship includes teaching, research, or creative activities that occur in partnership with the community to both prepare active citizens and benefit the public good.
The Nashman Faculty Grants for Engaged Scholarship are designed to: promote and support engaged teaching and research; improve communication among faculty about engaged scholarship; and, support professional development opportunities related to engaged scholarship.
The Nashman Center staff are happy to meet with you to discuss or help fine-tune your proposal ideas. Please email Wendy Wagner to schedule a time: wagnerw@gwu.edu.
VentureWell is offering faculty grants for up to $30K to create innovative or entrepreneurial courses for students in the area of STEM. Applications are due by November 9th.
You can access the application here.
