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 Dear Colleagues,
As we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month, let's remember that these celebrations reflect the deepest root of civic engagement. Even 150 years after the 13th Amendment was ratified, and 47 years after Dr. King's assassination, we are still fighting for equal rights for everyone in the United States. We must continue the civic work of teaching and including our students in defending liberty and justice for all peoples. As Theodore R. Johnson writes this month in The Aspen Journal of Ideas, "When Lincoln endorsed the 13th Amendment, he proclaimed aloud, ' This finishes the job.' He and the Americans of his era finished the job before them to end slavery. But they did not solve the race question; this is a task for every generation." --Dick Kinsley, Executive Director
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Campus Compact President's Blog Examines Vital Issues
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 Public Purpose, a new blog by Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn, discusses key issues in higher education, civic engagement, and the work of Campus Compact and its 1,100+ member colleges and universities.
The first two blogs examine the impact of college rankings on higher education's public mission and the central role of community colleges in helping underprepared students succeed. The latter post discusses how Campus Compact's Connect2Complete program, piloted in Ohio and two other states, demonstrates the ability of community colleges to meet the urgent national need to close the education gap.
A comments section allows members to respond to the ideas presented in a direct and personal way. Please take advantage of this exciting new national resource.
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OCC VISTA Spotlight: Serving Students at CSCC
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 | Maria Latschar, OCC
Connect2Complete VISTA at Columbus State Community College |
Maria Latschar began as a Connect2Complete (C2C) VISTA in 2013 to develop the pilot C2C program at Columbus State Community College (CSCC). The C2C program has become a major player in the student support services provided by the campus.
Latschar coordinates and trains the student Peer Advocates working in C2C and provides support on a daily basis. Through C2C, Peer Advocates have received training on financial aid, counseling, diversity, financial literacy, advising, and many other subjects. The Peer Advocates are then able to pass their knowledge on to the students they work with.
Most notably, Peer Advocates are trained Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB) Counselors. This allows them to help students apply for state assistance programs like SNAP and Medicaid. Through their efforts, 40 CSCC student applications for SNAP benefits were processed during the first year of C2C, garnering an estimated monthly allotment of $160 per household. Latschar is now working with OBB to have CSCC become a certified tax site for 2015. This will allow Peer Advocates to serve as tax-certified counselors and hold weekly tax advice sessions for students and staff at the college.
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"Life's most persistent and urgent question is:
What are you doing for others?"
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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 Our Connect2Complete (C2C) AmeriCorps VISTA team recently carried on the tradition of MLK Day by reflecting on the principles of nonviolent social change and racial equality through events around the state. These events provided C2C Peer Advocates and students the opportunity to bring Dr. King's life and teachings to life through civic engagement projects designed to empower and strengthen local communities. Projects included holding a Bookmark-athon for the Students Rebuild Literacy Challenge, cleaning up and mentoring students at a community center, and volunteering at the King Arts Complex in Columbus. In addition, the C2C VISTA at Miami University's Hamilton campus helped coordinate a community march for peace, justice, and equality. You can find C2C VISTA project descriptions for MLK Day here. Learn more about the history of MLK Day.
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Nominate Students as Newman Civic Fellows
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The nomination period for Campus Compact's Newman Civic Fellows Award is open through March 4, 2015. This award recognizes community-involved student leaders at member campuses across the nation. All members are encouraged to nominate a student for this special recognition.
Each campus's president or chancellor can nominate one student to become a Newman Civic Fellow. Nominated students will receive an award certificate and an invitation to join the Newman Civic Fellows online network. They will also be featured prominently on the Campus Compact national website and invited to participate in state-specific activities as appropriate. The application can be found here.
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Alleviating Poverty through Entrepreneurship
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This annual summit, sponsored by The Ohio State University, will be held at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH. This is also a great opportunity to volunteer! General admission is free.
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Women in Philanthropy Summit
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This two-day summit will explore "investing in women for the common good." Location: Otterbein University, Westerville, OH. Sponsored by Otterbein University, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Findlay. Co-sponsored by Ohio Campus Compact.
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2015 Prism of Possibility Conference
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This 9th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference will be held at the Bowen Thompson Student Union, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH.
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The 2015 Massachusetts Conference on Service and Volunteering is seeking proposals for workshops. The conference will be held June 1, 2015, in Framingham, MA.
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Proposal deadline:
February 27, 2015
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Following are book recommendations from OCC's staff, including an exciting new resource for community colleges and two books that have stood the test of time.
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Service-Learning at the American Community College:
Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives
This new book, edited by Amy Traver and Zivah Katz, examines theoretical and empirical studies of service-learning at community colleges and argues that service-learning can have a profound impact on students. The book includes a chapter on Campus Compact's Connect2Complete program, which was piloted in Ohio and two other states.
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Free Spaces: The Sources of Democratic Change in America
This classic by Sara M. Evans and Harry Boyte offers these gems (pp. 17-18), among many others: "free spaces are the environments in which people are able to learn a new self-respect, a deeper and more assertive group identity, public skills, and values of cooperation and civic virtue." "Democratic action depends upon these free spaces, where people experience a schooling in citizenship and learn a vision of the common good in the course of struggling for change."
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The Unheard Voices: Community Organizations and Service-Learning
This book by Randy Stoecker and Elizabeth A. Tryon examines the community side of campus-community work, taking a close look at "how community organizations define, perceive, and evaluate service learning" and discussing "the challenges, pitfalls, and praise of service learning from the viewpoint of the community." It concludes that "the greatest threat to the sustainability of service learning is to continue our current common practice" (from pp. 16-17).
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On the Move: OCC Staff Member Now National Director of Campus Election Engagement Project
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Congratulations to Theresa Bruskin, who came on board at OCC as the Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) Director for Ohio, and was recently promoted to National Director.
She will continue to work in her new role from the OCC office, as well as coordinating engagement outreach efforts in Ohio for the upcoming presidential election.
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If you have news, events, or campus models of interest to our members, we'd love to include them in our newsletter. We may also highlight them in other state and national venues.
Support Ohio Campus Compact every time you search the web, shop online, or dine out. Learn how.
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Dick Kinsley,
Executive Director
Connie Kramer,
Office Manager
Lesha Farias,
Senior Program Director
Brenna Limbrick,
Program Director
Theresa Bruskin,
National Director,
Campus Election
Engagement Project
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