The University Record, November 16, 1998
Kellogg Civic Engagement Project awards 4 grants
By Jeffrey Howard & Debra Moriarty
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
Four departments and schools at the University have received course development grants as part of funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to further students’ civic engagement on campus. Through this joint civic engagement initiative of the Center for Community Service and Learning and the Michigan Leadership Initiative, each of the four units will integrate community service and leadership development into an academic course.
Civic engagement is essential to a democratic society. In the United States, however, a growing number of people have reduced their engagement and withdrawn from participation in the community.
Seventeen faculty submitted proposals for new course or curricular initiatives to prepare students for active citizenship and effective and ethical leadership of communities.
The recipients and their projects are:
• Jed Jacobson and Robert Bagramian, School of Dentistry, and Larry Gant, School of Social Work, to support fourth-year dental students’ community practicum rotation with low-income and Medicaid patients, and reflection on civic responsibilities of dentists.
• William Schultz and Diann Brei, College of Engineering, to place students with community-based organizations to design and build mechanical engineering projects to partially fulfill the requirements of the capstone design course, ME 450.
• Frances Aparicio, Olga Gallego and Ligaya Figueras, Department of Romance Languages, to strengthen students’ language and cultural learning through community service in Spanish 232.
• Frank Thompson and Tom Weisskopf, Residential College, to develop and teach a new course, “The Theory and Practice of Civic Society,” which includes opportunities to participate in selected organizations actively engaged in advocacy in civil society.
• Catherine Badgley, Residential College; Ivette Perfecto, School of Natural Resources and Environment, and John Vandermeer, Department of Biology, will teach an interdisciplinary course that will involve students in farming- and environmental-related activities, pending course approval by the respective schools.
In addition, a number of events related to civic engagement are planned, including a campuswide symposium to be held in winter term.
Gregory Markus, professor of political science, is serving as the evaluator of the Kellogg Civic Engagement Project.
For more information, contact Jeffrey Howard, Center for Community Service and Learning, 1024 Hill St., 647-7402, [email protected]; or Debra Moriarty, Michigan Leadership Initiative, 6015 Fleming, 764-5132, [email protected].
You can always drop us a line: [email protected].
