eJournal of Public Affairs will Accept Submissions in June

By Cecilia M. Orphan, National Manager, American Democracy Project

I am pleased to announce that we will be accepting submissions for publication in the eJournal of Public Affairs in June 2011. This early launch of the eJournal Public Affairs is due to Rachelle Darabi and Missouri State University’s leadership and support of the project.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, we are in the process of creating an online journal and academic social network for the American Democracy Project. This journal grew out of the work of the eCitizenship initiative. We envision the journal having the following the elements:

• Peer Review
• Interactive, social networking hub (a place to propose and refine research topics)
• A showcase for pedagogical tools
• An ongoing symposium for working papers
• Assessment strategies for civic learning outcomes
• A showcase for student activities and projects

We will release the Call for Submissions at the ADP National Meeting in Orlando, June 2-4, 2011. After the ADP Meeting, I will post the Call for Submissions on the ADP Blog and share it with all ADP Contacts. Please watch for it on this blog.

The results to the query we conducted in preparation for the launch of this eJournal demonstrated a profound need for scholarly outlets for engaged scholarship and research on civic engagement. It is our hope that this eJournal will deepen and advance the civic engagement movement. If you have any questions about the eJournal, feel free to contact me: orphanc@aascu.org.

The Pathways to Civic Engagement of College Alumni Research Study Will Hold a Special Meeting at #ADPS11

By Cecilia M. Orphan, National Manager, American Democracy Project.

I am pleased to announce ADP’s involvement in an important research project called “Pathways to Civic Engagement of College Alumni.” The two principal researchers for this project, Alberto Cabrera of the University of Maryland and David Weerts of the University of Minnesota, will conduct a longitudinal study that views adult civic behaviors as the result of a pathway. This pathway considers how family background, academic and co-curricular experiences in high school and college, and career outcomes/choices collectively shape civic behaviors in adulthood.

The researchers will hold a special informational meeting about the research student at the ADP National Meeting in Orlando on Friday, June 3, 10:45 am – 12 pm. RSVP is required for this meeting. To RSVP, please send an email to me.

The research proposed by Professors Weerts and Cabrera fits squarely with ADP’s goal of producing graduates who are committed to being active, involved citizens in their communities. Their work promises to provide important insights into the role that college plays in facilitating civic participation among our students and future alumni. Through their research, we hope to make more informed decisions about ways that campuses can promote civic involvement for future generations.

We have a multi-year plan to engage ADP participants with the work of Professors Weerts and Cabrera. As part of our new partnership, I have invited Professors Weerts and Cabrera to share the scope and goals of the project at the ADP National Meeting in June.  At this meeting, they will solicit feedback from participants about analyses that would be most useful to ADP campuses. In subsequent years, the researchers will return to annual ADP meetings and share findings from their research.  Most importantly, these forums will be used to dialogue with campus leaders about practical steps that might be taken to improve the civic outcomes among our graduates.

I would like to invite participants of the ADP National Meeting in June to join this special meeting with Professors Weerts and Cabrera. Space is limited for and RSVP is required. To RSVP for the meeting, send me an email. Please see below for additional details.

To register for the ADP National Meeting, please visit this website.

Special Meeting at #ADPS11: Pathways to Civic Engagement of College Alumni: RSVP Required

Friday, June 3

Presenters: Alberto Cabrera, University of Maryland and David Weerts, Associate Professor and Co-Director, Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education, University of Minnesota

10:45 a.m. – Noon

In this session, presenters engage the audience in a discussion about their new research project underway entitled, Pathways to Civic Engagement of College Alumni. The purpose of this project is to examine pre-college, college, and post-college behaviors, attitudes, and experiences that best explain civic behaviors among college and university alumni.  Drawing on data from American College Testing (ACT), this longitudinal study consists of 17,000 records of individuals who hold degrees from 267 colleges and universities.  The majority of institutions in the sample are AASCU members.

Preliminary research questions driving this study include:

1) To what extent are civic behaviors among college graduates correlated with pre-college, college, and post-college behaviors, attitudes, and experiences?

2) How and to what extent do academic and co-curricular experiences in high school and college explain civic engagement after college?

3) How do students from diverse economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds vary in their pathway to civic engagement after college?

The professors seek input from participants about the project and how they might proceed with their research. Have the researchers captured key questions that are of interest to leaders of civic engagement? What have they missed?  What studies from the data would be most helpful to you in your role?

Becoming an Engaged Campus: A Practical Guide for Institutionalizing Public Engagement

By Cecilia M. Orphan, National Manager, American Democracy Project

“America’s colleges and universities have a long and distinguished record of responding to the nation’s call,” so begins the authors of a new book, Becoming an Engaged Campus: A Practical Guide for Institutionalizing Public Engagement. I would argue that the most important call placed on American higher education is that sounded by our nation’s democracy. I am delighted to announce that this book, written by ADP Northern Kentucky University chapter leaders Carole Beere, James Votruba and Gail Wells , could not have come at a better time in terms of providing an answer to democracy’s call. In line with AASCU Steward’s of Place notion that encourages campuses to be economic and democratic stewards of their region, this book offers practical guidance for university leaders hoping to foster meaningful engagement with their communities. A sampling of the many helpful and important topics covered in this book are as follows:

• Creating an institutional mission and vision for engagement
• Engaging in a process of institutional strategic planning around community/university engagement
• Garnering support for community/university engagement
• Aligning the various leaders on campus for community engagement

I am particularly excited about this book because the authors explore the nitty gritty details of what it takes to institutionalize community engagement on college campuses. I highly recommend this book to ADP leaders around the nation who are working to translate their civic work from being a boutique activity that is experienced by few students on campus into an institutional identify and culture on campus.

More information from the book’s website is below.

Becoming an Engaged Campus offers campus leaders a systematic and detailed approach to creating an environment where public engagement can grow and flourish. The book explains not only what to do to expand community engagement and how to do it, but it also explores how to document, evaluate, and communicate university engagement efforts.

Praise for Becoming an Engaged Campus

“This provocative yet exceedingly practical book looks at all of the angles and lays bare the opportunities and barriers for campus-community engagement while providing detailed pathways toward change. This comprehensive treatise marks a significant shift in the literature from the what and why of public engagement to the how. It is simply superb!”—Kevin Kecskes, associate vice provost for engagement, Portland State University

“Becoming an Engaged Campus is an essential guidebook for university leaders. It details the specific ways that campuses must align all aspects of the institution if they are to be successful in the increasingly important work of community outreach and engagement.”—George L. Mehaffy, vice president for academic leadership and change, American Association of State Colleges and Universities

“Most colleges and universities make the rhetorical claim of community engagement; this book is an excellent primer on how to transform the rhetoric into reality. The authors do not speak in abstract terms. They describe the specific structures, policies, and programs that have made Northern Kentucky University a national model of how a large urban university can transform its impact on the region it is supposed to serve.”—William E. Kirwan, chancellor, University System of Maryland

To order a copy of this book, please visit this website.

Becoming an Engaged Campus: A Practical Guide for Institutionalizing Public Engagement
Carole A. Beere, James C. Votruba, Gail W. Wells, Lee S. Shulman (Foreword by)
ISBN: 978-0-470-53226-3
Hardcover
272 pages
April 2011

US $40.00

Participate in an eCitizenship Research Study Being Conducted by UW La Crosse

Help University of Wisconsin-La Crosse researchers understand community involvement and Facebook use by completing a short, online survey.

By Julie Kildahl, Student, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

I am working with my faculty partner, Jo Arney, to examine community engagement and Facebook use. As I am sure many of you are aware, reactions to Facebook range from fear, to skepticism about social impact, to hope that Facebook will solve all social ills. We are hoping to learn how Facebook is used for civic engagement with the goal of better understanding its potential civic impact. To participate in our research study, please take a moment to complete  this brief, online survey.

The research study has IRB permission and will use a snowball sample on Facebook. After completing this survey, we would greatly appreciate it if you would re-post it on your Facebook wall with an invitation to your friends to complete the survey (i.e. “Will you help a friend of mine by completing this brief, online survey?”).

All responses will be anonymous. The results of the research study will be shared on the ADP Blog when they are compiled.

Thank you in advance for your help!

The Third Annual Civic Engagement Student Research Conference

Contact: Joe Corrado, Clayton State University

Students in the University System of Georgia are encouraged to develop an individually compelling sense of social and civic responsibility, community leadership and service to society.

To support this goal, Clayton State University, The New York Times, and the Southeast Region of the National Archives announce the Second Annual Student Research Conference on Civic Engagement to be held Friday March 25, 2010 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the National Archives in Morrow, Georgia. Undergraduates and graduate students attending USG schools are invited to submit papers and panel-session proposals on the broad subject of civic engagement beyond the vote.  For more information contact Dr. Joe Corrado at joecorrado@clayton.edu.

Clayton State University

Clayton State University, located in Morrow, GA, is a diverse master’s degree granting institution of the University System of Georgia. Our mission is to give students the knowledge and skills that they need to recognize and respond to the increasingly complex global context of contemporary life.

National Archives at Atlanta

The mission of the National Archives is to preserve the documentary legacy of our past, and the Southeast Region houses an extraordinary collection of documents created by Federal agencies in eight southeastern states. These documents depict the lives of well-known Americans, including John Marshall, Aaron Burr, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Wernher von Braun, as well as everyday people.  These documents have been preserved because they have continuing value for the necessary processes of government, provide protection of public and private rights, or contain useful information for researchers and the general public.

Students from the USG are invited to submit papers and panel-session proposals on any topic relating to engagement in politics in the community besides voting. Faculty may also submit papers and panel-session proposals from course assignments with the permission of their students. Research can include literary research and/or data collection. Possible topics include:

Civic Engagement Proposals: Contact Joe Corrado for more information about how to submit a proposal.

Not in Georgia, but like the idea? Consider hosting your own student research and civic engagement conference. Undergraduate research is a powerful way to encourage strong learning outcomes and perform valuable research for your communities. Giving students a venue to present this research is an excellent way to reinforce this pedagogical practice.