Campus Spotlight: Winona State hosts Civic Summit

In April, Winona State University, an American Democracy Project participating institution, hosted a civic summit featuring the new National Issues Forum guide Shaping Our Future: How Should Higher Education Help Us Create the Society We Want? I encourage you to read about the summit and people’s thoughts on how higher education can help us create the kind of democratic society we hope for.

I also encourage you to consider attending the following two program sessions at the upcoming ADP/TDC 2012 national meeting, June 7-9 in San Antonio:

Friday, June 8 | 10:30 a.m. – Noon
Featured Session:
National Issues Forum (NIF)—Shaping Our Future:  How Should Higher Education Help Us Create the Society We Want?
This session features a deliberative forum using the new NIF guide Shaping Our Future. This forum also provides an experiential introduction to key concepts and practices in deliberative politics such as naming and framing issues, choice work and trade-offs experience with choice work.  Shaping Our Future was developed by NIF and the Kettering Foundation and it will be used in collaboration with the American Commonwealth Partnership.
Presenters: John Dedrick, Vice President and Program Director, Charles F. Kettering Foundation (Ohio) and William V. Muse, President, NIF Institute (Ohio).
Forums will be moderated by: Cristin Foster, Assistant Program Director, David Mathews Center for Civic Life (Ala.); Doug Garnar, Professor and Service Learning Program Director, Broome Community College (N.Y.);  Kara Lindaman, Associate Professor and ADP Campus Director, Winona State University (Minn.); Chris McCauley, Executive Director, David Mathews Center for Civic Life (Ala.); Alberto Olivas, Director, Center for Civic Participation, Maricopa Community Colleges (Ariz.); Bernie Ronan, Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs, Maricopa Community Colleges (Ariz.); and Lisa Strahley, Associate Professor of Teacher Education and Early Childhood Development, Broome Community College (N.Y.).

Friday, June 8 | 3 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.       
Concurrent Session:
Deliberative Politics and Organizing for Deliberative Decision Making
This session discusses the role of public deliberation in democratic politics, introduces research on developing frameworks for productive public deliberations over controversial issues, and provides information useful to people who want to organize and lead forums on campuses and in community.
Presenters: John Dedrick, Vice President and Program Director, Charles F.  Kettering Foundation (Ohio); Cristin Foster, Assistant Program Director and Chris McCauley, Executive Director, David Mathews Center for Civic Life (Ala.); Kara Lindaman, Associate Professor and ADP Campus Director, Winona State University (Minn.); and Bill Muse, President, National Issues Forums Institute (Ohio)

See you in San Antonio!

–Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

How Should Higher Education Help Us Create The Society We Want?

On April 19, 2012, Winona State University hosted the inaugural civic summit on the National Issues Forum and American Commonwealth Project Deliberative Dialogue Initiative on Shaping Our Future:  How Should Higher Education Help Us Create The Society We Want?  The first national conversation using this issue guide was held in honor of WSU’s retiring president, Judith Ramaley, who is a tireless advocate for higher education and its civic mission.  President Ramaley serves as a member of the President’s Council for the American Commonwealth Partnership.

Over 110 participants attended the Civic Summit at Winona State University.  Individuals came as high school and college students, university faculty and staff, community members, higher education experts, media editors and journalists, local law enforcement, and business people.  It was quite the range of participants and they were mixed in groups with WSU students as trained moderators through the Minnesota Campus Compact moderator training series.

When organizing the Civic Summit, we immediately determined the event should be student led, as moderators, participants and organizers. This stems from our rich experience in student organizing and mobilizing efforts.  It also reflects our experience with the Center for Democracy and Citizenship’s training led by Harry Boyte and Dennis Donovan in the “We the People” series held with the Minnesota Campus Compact in Spring 2011.  For many of the fifteen plus students who became moderators, this was a new experience.  Despite its unfamiliarity, the students rose to the challenge, prepared their notes, and were comfortable enough to welcome others to their tables.  Each group of approximately 10-12 guests had two students—one as moderator and one as recorder.   Each group was designed to have a variety of individuals from different backgrounds, however the structure was very minimal to encourage open and honest discussion.  With little formality, students forged ahead, were indeed taken seriously by others, and extolled confidence and credibility to members of their groups.

“Seeing the different levels of a university present in one group with community members truly provided unique input regarding the different approaches.  Seeing the differences between the views of students, professors, and members of the administration was extremely interesting, however, what was more exciting, was seeing the areas they agreed upon – that higher education does indeed help us create the society we want…” Laura Lake

One particular group that was indicative of the principles behind the NIF process included a local and well-respected business person from the Winona community.  Known for his conservative underpinnings and his large contributions (nearly a quarter of a million annually to local grants and scholarships for students and community members), this community member began with strong support of American exceptionalism and Approach One.  It was evident of the potential generation gap experienced within the group as the local businessman began the discussion by voicing his stereotype that young people were lazy, took out too many loans, and used the money to go on vacation.  As one student shared his personal experience in joining the army (ROTC) to fund his education and his education at MCTC and transferring to WSU, without adequate financial aid and the lack of family support to co-sign loans, group members visibly recall the local businessman becoming more favorable and open to thinking about other ideas and other perspectives, with genuine respect towards the student advocating for and needing more student and financial aid.  It became clear the businessman had changed his mind after he heard the student’s personal experience and was open to seeing the other side as the group’s discussion continued.  In the end for the local businessperson, Approach II received support to train responsibility through community service.  While there was not an overall consensus regarding one approach over the other in this group and many others, this particular experience in the Winona Civic Summit: NIF Forum demonstrated a student and a businessman taking each other seriously and respecting their differences on the shared purpose of higher education.

One aspect of the Civic Summit that makes it so exceptional is that people of all walks of life participate in the democratic process together. Having such a diverse group of individuals discussing a public issue or good can cause participants to feel hesitant about what the outcomes of the dialogue will be. Student-moderator Courtney Juelich, had first-hand experience with this principle within her democracy pod:

“At first many of the students, both college and high school, were apprehensive about talking openly with adults. They were not quick to answer the posed questions and often looked to myself or to the three older members of the group after a question was stated. After introductions and finding common ground on themes and experiences, communication was fluid and respectful between all members in my democracy pods.”  Courtney Juelich

Even though participants came from all sorts of backgrounds but with a shared interest and common purpose, in the end the differences we previously used to distinguish ourselves were less important and noticeable than the sense of community, which was established over the shared principles of mutual respect and open discussion.  Student-moderators thoroughly enjoyed the process and felt empowered to be taken seriously and welcomed in a group of diverse generations and members.  We feel very fortunate to have launched this national conversation on the role of higher education in communities such as ours.  We also want to thank all of the participants for thoughtfully contributing to the health and well-being of democracy and deliberative dialogue in Winona.  Special thanks are extended to the Kettering Foundation, the National Issues Forum, and the American Commonwealth Partnership for granting us permission to pioneer this dialogue.  We wish President Ramaley the best in her retirement from Winona State University and appreciatively recognize and celebrate her support of the civic mission and the civic responsibility of the university with Winona and beyond.

Courtney L. Juelich is a junior at Winona State University and a major in Political Science and Public Administration with a minor in Economics.  She was one of the student organizers of the Civic Summit.  Her hometown is Chanhassen, Minnesota. She was the creator and writer of the 2012 Warrior Grant named “The Green Grant”, which after winning the student referendum vote will create a self-sufficient composting system for the Winona State campus to collect organic food scraps as well as to educate the student body on the process of composting and how it is beneficial to the environment.

Laura A. Lake is a junior at Winona State University and a major in Political Science and Public Administration with a Music minor. She is involved in Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Association, Student Senate, and National Residence Hall Honorary, and is currently a Resident Assistant, and will be an Assistant Hall director in the following year. Laura was the lead organizer of the Civic Summit. Her hometown is Hillsboro, Oregon.

Kara Lindaman serves as the American Democracy Project Coordinator at Winona State University, where she is an associate professor of political science and public administration.  She also serves on the Steering Committee of the American Commonwealth Partnership and enjoys collaborating with civically minded and passionately motivated students such as these.

Re-posted from ACP’s DemocracyU blog, here.

Partner Spotlight: NCoC Civic Health Index

ADP partner and friend NCoC — the National Conference on Citizenship — has announced its deadline for accepting new partners for 2012 civic health initiatives. NCoC plans to finalize all partnerships for 2012 by May 31. Will you join them?

NCoC currently works with cross-sector partners in over 25 communities across the country to use civic health data to measure and understand how our communities and democracy are functioning. We explore everything from the rates at which people are voting and volunteering, to indicators of engagement with neighbors, family, and institutions. This year, we were able to collect new indicators examining pressing issues such as online political engagement, trust of neighbors and confidence in major institutions that will inform 2012 projects.

These partnerships have produced reports, infographics, and initiatives that have been used to drive civic strategies of nonprofits, businesses, and governments. Our partners have used civic health data to pass new civic education legislation, promote statewide voter engagement initiatives, create citizen-driven grant making programs, and more.

We are excited to continue working with our current partners while growing this network to include all 50 states, the 50 largest metropolitan areas, and new demographic focus areas. Our partners serve as authors, funders, and conveners on these projects—giving life to our research, providing critical context for the findings, and preparing recommendations for next steps. Partners also ensure that the information reaches key stakeholders throughout the community. NCoC provides data and analysis, supports project management, leads the design phase, and provides in-depth consultation and support to meet partner needs and objectives.

We invite you to join this growing effort, by bringing the Civic Health Index to your community in 2012. For detailed information on our 2012 partnership opportunities, please visit www.NCoC.net/PartnerRecruitment. To speak further about partnership, please contact Kristi Tate, Director of Community Strategies at ktate@ncoc.net or 202-729-8038. All partnership agreements must be finalized by May 31, 2012.

Learn More About Partnering With NCoC!

The Corrupting Influence of Money in Politics: March 29, 2012 Livestream

The American Democracy Project and it’s Political Engagement Project are partnering with the Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy (Ill.) to give ADP faculty and students the opportunity to participate in a conversation about money and politics via a live-streamed event, free of charge. This March 29, 2012 event will be a moderated conversation with former Senator Russ Feingold (D) and Trevor Potter (who worked with the McCain Presidential campaign). ADPers will have the opportunity to Tweet questions to the speakers (more information, including the Twitter handle and hashtag to use, will be forthcoming). I encourage campus ADP groups to organize collective viewings of this presentation and to organize their own discussions afterward.

– Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

The Corrupting Influence of Money in Politics

with Senator Russ Feingold and Trevor Potter

Moderated by Elizabeth Brackett

Thursday, March 29, 2012 | 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Central)

The event above will streamed live from The University Club of Chicago here:

www.livestream.com/stevensoncenter

The escalating monies collected to promote or denounce issues, and the funding of political campaigns, are an increasingly corrupting influence in the creation of public policies which benefit the nation as a whole. The early months of this year’s presidential campaign have seen an unparalleled infusion of money into the campaigns as a result of the 2011 Supreme Court Decision that overturned the reforms Feingold and Senator John McCain championed in the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law. The discussion will cover the scope of the problem, its significant impacts on current campaigns, and efforts that might be encouraged to rein in the problems of runaway funding.

About the Speakers:

Russell D. Feingold was a Democratic senator from Wisconsin for 18 years (1993 -2011). He served on the Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Budget, and Intelligence Committees. He also served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1983 to 1993. Well known for leading the fight for campaign finance reform in the Senate alongside Senator John McCain, Russ has always championed efforts to limit the influence of special interests. On February 17, 2011, Feingold announced he had formed a grassroots Political Action Committee, Progressives United, a movement intended, among other things, to fight the controversial United States Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC.  Russ is also the author of the forthcoming book, “While America Sleeps,” about what America has done wrong both domestically and abroad since the terrorist attacks of September 11, and what steps must be taken to ensure that the next ten years are focused on the international problems that threaten America and its citizens.

Trevor Potter is a lawyer, former commissioner (1991–1995) and chairman (1994) of the United States Federal Election Commission. He is the founder, President, and General Counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington, DC based nonprofit focused on campaign finance issues in the courts and before the FEC. Potter served as General Counsel to the 2000 and 2008 Presidential campaigns of John McCain. He is also notable for appearing on the television program The Colbert Report, where he discussed political action committees, and the founding and progress of the Colbert Super PAC and 501C-4. Potter explained to Colbert’s audience the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision made by the United States Supreme Court that allowed the creation of “Super PACs”, and was the lawyer behind the creation and functioning of Stephen Colbert’s PAC, “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow”.

Elizabeth Brackett is a Chicago-based correspondent and host for WTTW-TV’s Chicago Tonight program, a correspondent for PBS’ The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and an author. Her journalism has been awarded a Peabody Award and an Emmy.

About the Stevenson Center:

The international Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy is a newly organized non-profit which seeks to enhance the global understanding and practice of democracy. It brings veterans and practitioners of politics together with scholars to seek information and ideas from history and the world. No ivory tower, the goal of the Center is to address challenges to democratic systems of government and conceive practical solutions that make governments more accountable. Non-partisan and non-ideological, its integrity enables it to challenge conventional wisdom with inconvenient truths when necessary, in keeping with the legacy of Adlai E. Stevenson II.

The Center is located at Stevenson’s former home near Libertyville, Illinois, restored with a grant from the State of Illinois and now a property of the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Participants in its activities come from research and policy organizations as well as from the world of politics, journalism and other fields, thus representing a broad spectrum of expertise and practical experience. The non-partisan Center strives to influence opinion and the political process through public education, the media and other means. It aims to bring practitioners from on the ground and throughout the world together with policy analysts and researchers, bridging the gap between theory and practice, ideas and action. Its international perspective and operation offer a unique contribution.

For more information about the Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy (Ill.), go here.

About ADP’s Political Engagement Project:

The Political Engagement Project has the goal of developing a sense of political efficacy and responsibility on the part of undergraduates as well as a set of political skills that students will need as they engage with the political world. To do this, PEP campuses have infused political education and engagement tactics into a variety of disciplines and courses on campus and have made the tenants of political engagement central to the institutional framework of their campuses. The project documents the goals and pedagogies of the participating courses and programs, students’ perspectives on their experiences in the program, and the impact of these experiences on key dimensions of political development such as knowledge and understanding, active involvement, sense of political efficacy and identity, and skills of democratic participation.

For more information about ADP’s Political Engagement Project, go here.

Partner Spotlight: Student Voting Update from FELN’s Campus Vote Project

Student Voting Update for March 12, 2012

Posted by Josh Spaulding

The Fair Elections Legal Network’s Campus Vote Project is excited to launch its new weekly update that focuses on news across the country related to students’ ability to vote. Young people are constantly underrepresented when it comes to voting. While many attribute the low turnout to apathy, specific barriers to the ballot disproportionately affect young people generally and students specifically.

Students, in particular, face additional obstacles to voting as they move to a new community for school. These challenges include not knowing voter registration rules and deadlines, not having acceptable ID for voter registration or voting purposes, confusion about where to vote, lack of transportation to the polls, and occasionally are confronted by unfriendly or unsympathetic elections officials or poll workers.

There are several ways for students, administrators, and election officials to help get students the information they need to register and vote. This weekly update will highlight what is being done on campuses and in the states to get students the information to participate and make voting more accessible as well as legislation that is specifically targeted to limit students’ access to the ballot. These are just a few examples from the past month. Please let us know of any recent on campuses or in the states that will impact students’ access to the ballot. Send your email to info@campusvoteproject.org.

To view non-student specific legislation that will impact access to voting, please visit FELN biweekly update on voter suppression legislation.

If you are interested in joining the new campaign FELN launched, Campus Vote Project, to help get students to the polls, please sign up at www.campusvoteproject.org.

Georgia

In the recent Presidential primary in Georgia, turnout among young voters was only 5%. A local TV station asked students at Albany State University why they didn’t vote. The students responded that they were unaware of the primary election date or that they were registered in their hometown.

Indiana

Students at Ball State University made their case before the Delaware County Election Board for an early satellite voting site on the Ball State campus. Currently, the campus is split into four different precincts with most of the polling locations over a mile from campus. Ball State President Joann Gora was supportive of the idea in 2008, the last time students tried to get a satellite voting site on campus.

Florida

The University of Miami, Miami-Dade Community College, and Florida International University have partnered with Turbovote, an online tool to help students vote. In the next few months, students will be able to start the voter registration process as well as apply for an absentee ballot through Turbovote. Students will be mailed ballots and will receive email and text message remainders as the election nears to either vote the absentee ballot or show up to vote in person on Election Day. FELN provides strategic advice and legal analysis for Turbovote.

Maryland

Although the Maryland General Assembly will not consider new legislation this year, the Student Government Association at the University of Maryland voted 20-0 to call on the legislature to introduce and pass same-day registration in a future legislative session. They noted that states with same-day registration saw an increase in student voters, including an analysis by the California Institute of Technology showing that same-day registration increased turnout of young adults (18-25 year olds) by 9.1 percent.

Minnesota

As lawmakers try to move through a bill in the Minnesota legislature that will put on the November ballot a constitutional amendment requiring a photo ID to vote, the League of Women Voters Minnesota produced a video showing how the law will effect voters – especially students. Among them is a graduate student who has, like many other students, moved 12 times in the past 6 years for internships, work, and when the school year ends. The proposed amendment will add a new barrier to voting for students in a state that has traditionally seen higher levels of student voting because of Election Day registration.

New Hampshire

The House passed legislation two weeks ago that would require a person’s voting address be their residence for all other legal purposes, impacting hundreds of laws and statutes that contain the words residency and domicile. For instance, a person would be required to change their drivers’ license and vehicle registration if it did not match the address they use for voter registration. The bill will likely prevent out of state college students from voting in New Hampshire unless they change their legal residence from their home state to New Hampshire. The bill heads to the Senate.

North Carolina

The upcoming vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage in North Carolina has activated students on the Duke University campus to make voting more convenient for students ahead of the spring election. The Duke Student Government got a one-stop early voting site on campus – allowing students to both register and cast a ballot at the same time.

Ohio

Warren G. Harding High School took a group of students who will be 18 by the November general election to vote in Ohio’s primary election on Wednesday. Dozens more students from Warren City Schools are expected also be bused to vote in the primary.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Senate passed a voter photo ID law that allows for student IDs from a Pennsylvania college or university to be acceptable ID if the student ID contains a photo, the student’s name, and an expiration date proving that it is still valid. The bill moves back to the House for agreement and then to Governor Tom Corbett to sign. Governor Corbett has said he is in favor of requiring photo IDs to vote.

Texas

The Black Student Alliance at San Antonio College in Texas recently conducted a voter registration drive to educate students on the importance of voting. They were able to register 90 students and plan to hold two more voter registration drives before the November election.

Vermont

Vermont voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2010 that now allows 17 year olds that will be 18 by the general election to vote in the upcoming presidential and August primary.

Virginia

SB 1 passed the Senate on February 6 with a 20-20 vote with the lieutenant governor casting the tie-breaking vote. SB 1 allows an ID card from any 4 year school of higher education in Virginia – including private schools – to serve as voting ID. Those who cannot provide an ID will no longer be able to sign a sworn statement of identity to vote by regular ballot and will instead have to vote by provisional ballot and show required ID later. The House concurred and the bill has been sent to Governor Bob McDonnell.

For the primary this past week, Liberty University was able to get a polling location on campus for students to vote. Previously, students had to take a bus to the polling location. Close to 600 people voted on at the polling place on campus.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s photo ID law was temporarily suspended pending trial over a lawsuit over the new law. Last’s month primary election required photo ID – which also allowed student ID’s – but as of now are not required to show a photo ID in the upcoming primary election because of the injunction. The new law that has been suspended only allows student IDs to serve as IDs if they have a photo, name, signature, date of issuance, and a 2-year expiration date. Students also must bring a letter from their school indicating that they are currently enrolled to be able to use a student ID. One student writes about the complications she encountered trying to vote under the new law, including printing the enrollment verification form.

The Madison Student Voter Coalition and the University of Wisconsin – Madison conducted a voter education awareness campaign prior to Tuesday’s primary.

The Wisconsin Senate passed a bill that would no longer require that voter registration to be offered to students in high school. It now heads to the Wisconsin Assembly.

The University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire is issuing voter IDs to students that do not have acceptable forms of identification to vote but are charging students $2 to obtain one. The Chippewa Valley Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the school urging them to provide the IDs for free.

Whether or not technical school IDs are acceptable forms of identification is now in the hands of Gov. Scott Walker. He must approve the official policy written and approved by the Government Accountability Board that allows IDs issued by technical schools for voting.

________

Re-posted with permission from The Campus Vote Project Blog.

ADP Partners with Fair Elections Legal Network’s new Campus Vote Project

The American Democracy Project and our Political Engagement Project are proud to partner with the Fair Election Legal Network’s new Campus Vote Project.

The new Campus Vote Project is a non-partisan campaign to help college students work with administrators and local election officials to make the process of voting easier and overcome barriers students often face to voting that students often mention such as residency laws, registration deadlines, and strict voter ID requirements.

I hope you’ll consider connecting your campus with the Campus Vote Project!

- Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

To learn more, go here. 

Download the free Campus Vote Project Toolkit here.

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Guest blog post by Dan Vicuna, CVP Coordinator

Concerned about youth being underrepresented in the upcoming election? Our colleagues over at Fair Elections Legal Network launched Campus Vote Project (CVP) to provide college students and administrators with the tools and support to institutionalize best practices on campuses in order to provide voter information, increase student participation in elections and overcome barriers to the ballot often faced by students.

Students face unique obstacles to voting including not knowing voter registration rules and deadlines; not having acceptable ID for voter registration or voting purposes; confusion about where to vote; a lack of transportation to the polls; and occasionally, being confronted by unfriendly or unsympathetic election officials or poll workers. And it’s getting worse with the introduction of new voter suppression laws across the country that shorten early voting periods, require a voter ID that many students lack, and place onerous restrictions on groups holding registration drives.

Campus Vote Project addresses these barriers and will work with students and college administrators to overcome them on college campuses.

For more information on the project visit www.campusvoteproject.org and follow them on Twitter @campusvote. You can also read the CVP blog here.

Partner Spotlight: NYTimes has a great new college rate for Digital Subscriptions!

ADP’s founding partner, The New York Times, has a new college rate for digital subscriptions. Now you can read The Times on your smartphone, tablet or computer at a lower, college rate!

- Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

Get a New York Times Digital Subscription at our new college rate!

Just 99 cents for your first 4 weeks, then 50% off the regular rate thereafter.

We invite you to take advantage of this new rate, available exclusively to college educators and students.  Get a Digital Subscription to The New York Times, bringing you the world’s finest journalism, and you’ll pay only 99c for your first 4 weeks and, at 50% off, as little as $1.88 per week thereafter.*

You’ll be entitled to your special low rate as long as you continue to have a college affiliation as a faculty or staff member.

SUBSCRIBE HERE

Home Delivery subscriptions are also available at 50% off for the college community and include FREE All Digital Access.   Just visit NYTimes.com/CollegeRate or call (888)698-2655.

Share the savings: Share this offer with other students, faculty, and staff.

*Does not include e-reader editions, Premium Crosswords or The New York Times Crosswords apps. All subscriptions will automatically renew and the credit card will be charged in advance of each billing period unless canceled. If the subscription is canceled, refunds and termination of access will follow the Terms of Sale policy. Prices are subject to change. Other restrictions and taxes may apply. K-12 educators are eligible for a discounted rate and may visit NYTimes.com/TeacherRate or call (888)698-2655.

At the Forefront of Change: The Work of Building Democracy Colleges

Note: The American Democracy Project is a partner in the new American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP).

By Harry C. Boyte, American Commonwealth Partnership National Coordinator

At the forefront of change will be a monthly online newsletter about activities and developments in the American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP). ACP is an alliance of colleges and universities, schools and others dedicated to the democracy college ideal for all higher education. Democracy colleges have a signature identity of strong connection to their communities, where students learn skills of working across differences on public problems and discover the democratic possibilities of America.

I’ve just come back from San Antonio. Blase Scarnati, director of the First Year Seminar at Northern Arizona University, and I did a featured session on the American Commonwealth Partnership at the Academic Affairs meeting of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). This biannual meeting once simply involved provosts, but in the last several years larger teams have come to help facilitate change in their institutions.

We had intense conversations about ACP, within our session as well as before and after. Overall, the weekend underlined both challenges and opportunities for the sustained work of “building democracy colleges.”

We reported on results from field testing and focus groups organized by the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), ACP’s partner in launching a national discussion on higher education’s role in America’s future. The discussions in communities and on campuses will begin in April and continue through the year. The Department of Education has suggested several ways in which they might help.

Research last year on public views toward higher education and the first tests of the framework to be used in the discussions have generated important findings.

The draft framework presents several alternative roles for people to consider and discuss: higher education as an engine of economic growth; as a path to the middle class for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and as a contributor to communities and the democracy. People want to integrate all three, not choose among them.

But most people also seem unaware of ways in which colleges and universities can play this third role. Since the last two decades have seen significant civic engagement work in higher education, this finding suggests a communications challenge, also highlighted by sympathetic participants from outside of higher education at the White House gathering, who commented that phrases commonly used to describe engagement – civic mission, civic engagement, and others – would not be easily understood by broader publics.

When the third option is illustrated with examples of higher education’s helping students and faculty learn skills and habits of collaborative work across differences on public problems, it generates surprise and animated discussions. Few people are aware that colleges or universities can play any role in teaching such skills. But across many differences, Americans are worried that “we are less and less able to work across differences to get anything done,” and fear for the future of the nation. Citizens are alarmed by Congress, but see polarization, inflammatory rhetoric and gridlock extending to every level of society and to all sorts of issues, from local zoning changes to reconstruction of the nation’s electrical grid.

Powerful forces feed the polarizing dynamic, including the formula, with roots in 1970s activism, which dominates most civic and political campaigns: identify an enemy; define issues as good versus bad; and use inflammatory language to shut down critical thought. Talk radio, cable news and the internet are potent operationalizing tools.

At San Antonio, there were strong examples of developing capacities for collaborative work that push back against such polarization. Blase Scarnati described the curricular innovations at NAU which involve hundreds of students in interdisciplinary Action Research Teams as part of the First Year Seminar. Students undertake public work projects on issues – immigration, weatherization, school bullying and others – in ways designed to teach such skills and build public relationships with diverse groups, connected to interdisciplinary learning.  Over supper one evening I heard a rich account from Dayna Seelig, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Morehead State University in Kentucky, about her own work over many years in teaching such skills and habits to students, faculty and staff of the university.

But such stories are rarely told in describing engagement efforts, and I believe that most examples of teaching and learning collaborative public work remain invisible. There is a need to shine a spotlight on education for such efforts. There are also strong institutional incentives for doing so in a time of public alarm about the fraying of American society and ebbing public support for higher education.  The initiatives of ACP (deliberative dialogues, student organizing, Citizen Alum, civic science, pedagogies of engagement, community civic health, public scholarship, and policy) all help to foster education for collaborative public problem solving. But it will take sustained effort to make such teaching and learning central to institutional identity.

What might a “Democracy College Morrill Class” look like dedicated to this task? We suggested the possibility of a cohort of colleges and universities that make an explicit commitment for sustained collaborative learning to deepen curricular and co-curricular engagement in civic work. It is now only the seed of an idea, but even without detail there was considerable interest. Several administrators said that their institutions would definitely like to be involved.

Find more information about ACP here.

ADP partners with the Earth Day Network’s MobilizeU to help make Every Day, Earth Day

The American Democracy Project is proud to announce a partnership with the Earth Day Network’s MobilizeU project. MobilizeU is a month-long effort to engage campus communities around four weeks of meaningful environmental efforts, from March 29-April 29, 2012. The Earth Day Network’s goals of scaling-up and sustaining longer-term environmental initiatives is in keeping with ADP’s efforts to make civic learning and engagement more central to our campus missions and work: rather than merely celebrating Earth Day, we can engage our campuses and communities in efforts to make our communities more healthy and sustainable on and before Earth Day, and every day.

I hope you’ll join us!

Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

By Carra Cheslin, Earth Day University Campaign Coordinator, Earth Day Network

College and university students have consistently been at the forefront of the environmental movement, rallying and taking a stand for our planet. 2012 will be a critical year for the environment; as our climate and natural environment are rapidly changing, a host of major national elections occur, and the prominent Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development takes the world stage. Thus the time is now for universities to again lead the way in creating environmental change.

As part of Earth Day Network’s global effort to Mobilize The Earth™, Earth Day University is activating college students to join the MobilizeU movement and enable their campus environmental initiatives to have a greater impact than ever before.

MobilizeU is an international competition between colleges and universities that calls upon students to mobilize their campus communities around four weeks of environmental activism surrounding Earth Day 2012 (March 29 – April 29). Over the month-long competition, students will organize activities such as campus clean-ups, new voter registration drives and Earth Day events, as well as amplify environmental initiatives they are already working on at their schools.

Each of these activities will be broken down into a calculable number of “acts of green” – actions that either educate someone about the environment or reduce an individual’s carbon footprint. During each week of the competition, School Coordinators from each participating university will report the number of acts of green they generated and post a creative photo or video documenting their efforts to the MobilizeU Facebook hub. A central objective of MobilizeU is to build an international movement of student environmental activists. Thus, student Regional Coordinators will be working to initiate an exchange of ideas as well as a sense of community between students across the world.

Every act of green generated during MobilizeU will contribute to Earth Day Network’s global A Billion Acts of Green® initiative which will be presented to world leaders at the Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development this June. Thus, MobilizeU provides a platform for college students to amplify their environmental initiatives on an international level have a significant influence on global environmental change.

Students: Join the movement and Mobilize your U today as a Regional Coordinator or a School Coordinator.

You can view the MobilizeU YouTube video here.

You can download the MobilizeU Toolkit MobilizeU Tooklit.

Contact MobilizeU@earthday.org for more information.

Public Engagement Grants: NIFI Announces Taylor L. Willingham Legacy Fund Grants Program

By Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), an ADP partner organization, announced today a new grants program. The Taylor L. Willingham Legacy Fund Grants are intended to assist individuals in developing a better understanding of public engagement and/or to plan and launch deliberative forums in their communities. Grants are for use in 2012 and are anticipated to be between $500 and $1,000.

Taylor L. Willingham was a pioneer in the public engagement field and in National Issues Forums (NIF) work and served as a National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) director. She died on Monday, September 5, 2011 at her home in Salado, Texas, after a year-long battle with kidney cancer. NIFI’s new grants program honors Taylor and her legacy and will help others continue the important work of strengthening our democracy.

I encourage ADP faculty, staff, students, and community partners to apply for grants to aid you in your tireless efforts to educate yourselves and others about public issues and to foster deliberative dialogue on your campuses and in your communities. Details about the Taylor L. Willingham Legacy Fund Grants Program are below.

 

Taylor L. Willingham (1957-2011)

Details:

Applications are currently being accepted for a grant from the National Issues Forums Institute to enable an individual to develop an understanding of deliberative democracy and to launch one or more deliberative forums in their communities or organizations.  Grants are expected to be in the range of $500-1,000.

The application should consist of: (1) a resume describing your experience and education; (2) a cover letter that explains why you are interested in becoming involved in the deliberative democracy movement and what specific course of action you propose to become familiar with this work and how and where you would implement forums; and (3) a budget indicating how the grant would be spent.

Applications are welcomed from any U.S. Resident, with special consideration given to residents of Texas. The application should be received on or before December 1, 2011 and e-mailed to bmuse@nifi.org or mailed to:
National Issues Forums Institute
100 Commons Road
Dayton, Ohio 45459

Grants will be made by February 1, 2012 and will be for use during 2012.  A report on activities will be required on or before November 30, 2012.

Click here for more information about Taylor L. Willingham and her work.

Donations to the fund are welcome and can be made securely online.  All donated money will go toward grant awards.

New College Rate for New York Times Digital Subscriptions

The New York Times is a founding partner, along with AASCU, of the American Democracy Project. ADP nationally, as well as all of our efforts on our 240 college and university campuses, has benefited from our special relationship with The New York Times — from Campus Readership programs, to Times Talks, to speakers and support for our national meetings. Our friends at The New York Times are now offering a special college rate for New York Times digital subscriptions. We wanted to make sure to share this offer with all of you.

– Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

Become a New York Times Digital Subscriber and save 50% on unlimited access to NYTimes.com and the NYTimes apps for your smartphone or tablet.* Get rates as low as $1.88 per week. This special offer is available only to eligible college faculty, staff members and college students, so act now to enjoy unlimited access to The Times as well as exclusive savings.
You will be entitled to keep your digital subscription at the college rate as long as you continue to be a college faculty or staff member.

Visit NYTimes.com/CollegeRate to see all digital subscription options and to sign up at our new college rate. Share the savings: Share this offer with other students, faculty, and staff.

*Mobile apps are not supported on all devices. Does not include e-reader editions, Premium Crosswords or The New York Times Crosswords apps. Prices are subject to change. Other restrictions and taxes may apply. To qualify for this special college rate, you must be a current college or university student, faculty member, staff or administrator with a valid college or university e-mail address, which usually ends in .edu.