web: http://www.twc.edu/

From

Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

1) the development of a Research Collection which documents the development of Los Angeles, particularly since 1900;
2) an Institute for Leadership Studies which coordinates student internships focused on public service;
3) a Lecture Series which brings to the campus Los Angeles leaders in politics, ethnic relations, real estate development, and education;
4) a Community Studies Program which conducts opinion polls on such issues as city charter reform, local ballot initiatives, public expenditure for sports, and neighborhood needs assessments.

Further information on the Center can be found online at http://www.lmu.edu/csla.

Website: http://www.mdcc.edu/cci/images/Project%20Citizen.pdf

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Web site: http://www.luc.edu/curl/prag/

Contact: Philip Nyden, Director, pnyden {at} luc(.)edu

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

web site: http://www.iupui.edu/~floc/home.html

e-mail: floc {at} topaz.iupui(.)edu

A major emphasis of the “”Biology of Global Change”" class was to learn how to become an active participant in solving environmental problems. The course was split into three components. In part I of the course, students learned about scientific issues and the scientific method. Part II examined policy issues surrounding global change and part III combined both the policy and science issues learned during part I and II. The philosophy behind this construction is that the students learn the material but are then given the opportunity to apply this learning in order to begin to address problems of global change that they discover during the academic portion of the course. One student commented on the benefits of this system: “”I like the fact that we are able to act on what we learn.”" Camill saw this opportunity to act on learning missing from many traditional science classes. He thought that students need to learn how they can affect public policy now, so they can feel like active members of society as soon as they leave their undergraduate career. He states “”the service-learning component of the class gives real world, hands-on experience.”"

Students were given the option of working at a local or national level in groups or on their own. Some of the projects included:

• students developed curriculum for kindergarten students that would instill the importance of environmentalism and then went into public schools and taught
• students worked with the food services at Carleton to chart energy and food waste and then developed a presentation to the campus on their findings
• students studied the local river to determine how and if it was being polluted and identified steps to mitigate the pollution
• students created a web page to discuss environmental issues at the international scale; students computed the costs and savings of implementing solar power in homes.
• Other possibilities were explained in detail on the website developed specifically for the class: http://celeste.carleton.edu/curricular/BIOL/classes/bio190/slp2.html.

The final day of class all the students presented their projects in poster form for the Carleton campus as well as the local community. Students comments after the class showed the positive connection they had established between academics and their application in the community: “”I thought it was a great way to both apply what we were learning in class and in general to make the connection between academics and real life. I made a connection in the wider community and made a useful contribution.”"

Websites: http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/BIOL/faculty/pcamill/SLP00/SLPindex.html
http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/BIOL/classes/bio190/index3.html

The Center has two ultimate goals. One goal is to help engage citizens and students in discussing public policy issues in ways that transcend adversarial debate and special interest approaches and, instead, foster greater appreciation for and attention to the common ground upon which citizens can act together to solve their collective problems. It does this by teaching the methods of deliberative dialogue developed by the National Issues Forums and the Kettering Foundation. The other goal is to build civic infrastructure in the region through organizational partnerships animated by the ideals and practices of deliberative democracy. Our work is based on the premise that representative government cannot work well without the partnership of active citizens in directing, complementing, undergirding and sustaining its efforts.

Website: http://www.fpc.edu/pages/institutes/neccl/neccl.html

Website: http://www.raritanval.edu/departments/HealthScience/index.htm#teaching

The college chose this unique approach to reach out to New York City s youth because of its relevance to the college s immediate goal to cultivate leadership potential among younger populations. Students who participated in Presidential Convention 2000 received valuable lessons in the types of skills verbal, analytic and written that are required of leaders. In addition, students had the opportunity to interact with major political officials from both the Democratic and Republican parties. Presidential Convention 2000 also sought to take advantage of the ethnic and economic diversity of New York City to further an understanding of differences and inclusion among the city s youth.

Presidential Convention 2000 was a unique opportunity for students to learn about and participate in our political system. The event was also an important step in creating significant ties between New York City s public high schools and Hunter. We are pleased to report that this event received excellent press coverage: the Daily News, Newsday, NY1, WLIB, National Public Radio, Voice of America and Radio Liberty covered Presidential Convention 2000.

Hunter College Presidential Elections 2000 web site: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/pc2000/

On our Westchester campuses students are consistently developing leadership and citizenship skills through a broad array of volunteer and community service activities. A recent example is the Hudson River Marine Sanitation Act, which is an initiative to develop legislation for consideration by the New York State Legislature. Working in partnership with the Hudson River Keeper, students in a political science class in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences have formed the Hudson Environmental Legislation Project (H.E.L.P.). The proposed bill would require marinas on the Hudson River to install pump-out facilities thus meeting federal requirements for the River to be declared a No Discharge Zone. The class has expressed the desire to be the lead sponsor and is recruiting the support of local State Assembly and Senate representatives including the Chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on Environmental Protection and New York State Governor George Pataki.

Pace Rewards web site: http://www.pace.edu/em/StuDevNYC/Pace_Rewards.html
Contact person: Dawn Knipe, Assistant Dean for Students, CampusActivities {at} pace(.)edu

Website: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/advancement/development/projects/roosevelt/presleadership/presleadership.html

The program combines a year-long internship of twenty hours a week in a public or non-profit agency with two seminars on issues important to the future of New York City. Special events such as tours, guest lectures, and career workshops enhance the program.

Over the year, Scholars gain:

Firsthand experience of the institutional, economic and political forces that shape public policy.
An opportunity to work directly with public servants on issues that confront them daily.
A generous stipend.
Eighteen credits in Urban Studies.
A mentor from the Hunter College Alumni Association who has similar career and/or personal interests.
A competitive edge in seeking public service careers or admission to graduate school. With the program director, scholars review job descriptions provided by agencies, selecting several at which to interview. Internships are matched as closely as possible with students’ interests and skills.
Scholars take on specific projects, conduct research and analysis, attend staff meetings, and become involved in the functions of their agencies.
Public Service Scholars also participate in two weekly seminars each semester:
– An in-Service Seminar which encompasses the work in the internship and provides an introduction to skills that promote a successful internship.
– Seminar on the City which focuses on the problems of New York City and possible solutions.
Internship placements are available in over 200 public and non-profit agencies and offices of elected officials.

For more information, contact the Hunter College Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, urban {at} hunter.cuny(.)edu

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

“”As a political scientist, I have been involved in a project in conjunction with The League of Women Voters. The League in our area is trying to focus on reasons why local youth eligible to vote, do not. Secondly, the League is hoping to implement local strategies that would encourage voting. To this date, we have sponsored two round tables attempting to ascertain the reason for non voting. The first discussion pulled together political science professors from 4 regional institutions of higher education and history or civics teachers from 6 regional high schools. The 2nd discussion consisted of 20 students from those respective institutions of higher and secondary education. The opportunity for local academicians and students to discuss and share their insights on this matter held value in and of itself. Additionally, as an interest group, The League was able to use these discussions to develop strategies of implementation in order to encourage more voting among young people. Subsequent discussions are scheduled with these and other segments of the local populace.”"