Campus Spotlight: eCitizenship at William Paterson University of New Jersey

By Christine A. Kelly, Professor, William Paterson University of New Jersey

William Paterson University has undertaken a comprehensive approach to integrating web 2.0 tools into all our ADP initiatives.  We launched a student web design contest and had a entire web 2.0 makeover: our new website incorporates:

1. Commmunity Mapping of 130 community Partners,
2. Facebook and Twitter elements primarily supporting our Youth Vote 2K10 and 2K11 campaigns;
3. An interactive searchable database aiming to match students and faculty (classes) with community partners seeking volunteers and support. Our site also features a YouTube window for related news clips or videos of interest.

William Paterson’s eCitizenship initiative has been strongly supported by our Provost. The adoption of a new general education program (University Core Curriculum) which boasts a 3-credit requirement in the area of “Civic and Community Engagement”  for all graduates has enlivened the institutional environment for all of ADP’s initiatives.

We have benefited from incorporating students through our student employment programs. We have hired three students to assist with program and office management as well as database management.  We have also utilized prize money to encourage student work in the are of graphic and web design.

We also built a student volunteer team for our Youth Vote (YV) 2k10 campaign which conducted “talks” in First Year Seminar classes and in three Paterson NJ area high schools.

The WPU Youth Vote 2K10 Team ("No Vote, No Piece!") visited with the students of Rosa Parks High School for the Performing Arts in Paterson NJ.

To learn more about William Paterson’s eCitizenship activities, please visit the following webpages:

William Paterson’s ADP Website

William Paterson’s Facebook Page

William Paterson’s Twitter Feed

Experience eRecruiting Network at Engage

William Paterson’s ADP New Jersey Community Engagement Map