Project on Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility

Civic learning involves developing the knowledge and practical skills/competencies to become effective, engaged citizens in an increasingly multicultural and global world. As a liberal arts institution, Cornell is ideally positioned to promote civic learning by providing students with:

• perspectives of a variety of academic disciplines
• opportunities to consider the interrelationships of these perspectives
• integration and coordination of these perspectives with experiential leadership and service opportunities

Civic engagement opportunities involve one or more of the dimensions of practice shown in the diagram to the right.

Project components

Visiting speakers and events

Distinguished visitors frequently deliver lectures and seminars on themes related to civic engagement. Recent guests include:

• Michelle Murray, Civil Rights Investigator with the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission, spoke on racial discrimination in the housing market
• Fran Wilshusen, Habitat Service Manager of Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, spoke on Native American fishing rights
• Luther Snow, author of The Power of Asset Mapping, conducted workshops on asset-based development
• James Thwinda, Executive Director of Chicago Jobs with Justice, spoke on the "living wage" movement

Internships

The project also helps place students with organizations that promote social change. Recent internships include:

• Liz Wessling ’09 spent a 2009 block working with students in a before-school program at the ARC of East Central Iowa in Cedar Rapids. She then returned to work at their Summer Day Program
• Ariel Glasman ’11 spent the summer of 2009 as a counselor at Camp Courageous of Iowa in Monticello
• Griffin LaDew '09 spent the summer of 2008 helped with organizing efforts for a Cedar Rapids community center with the non-profit group PLAY (Planning Lifelong Activities for You)

Academic Courses

The project promotes the development of courses about civic engagement and courses that incorporate civic engagement in the curriculum. Examples include:

• Contemporary Native Americans (SOC 248)
• Strategies to Alleviate Poverty (POL 336)
• AIDS Literature, Film and Society (ENG 370)
• Ceramics I & II in Mexico (ART 202/302)