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Requiring Civic Engagement of Graduate Students: An Example from ISU

Frank D. Beck, Beverly A. Beyer, Nicole Kurtain, Ken Springer, Pat Turner, Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development

Additional Materials

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development (Beck - PowerPoint)

This session will introduce the Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development, which oversees an interdisciplinary graduate sequence in community and economic development.  First-year students working toward degrees in Applied Economics, Politics & Government, or Sociology take courses required by the sequence, as well as those required for the degree in their home department.  In their second-year, they work full-time for 11 months in the Peace Corps, with domestic government agencies, not-for-profit community-based organizations, or businesses to complete Professional Practice credits. Students report on their experiences and make connections to their course work. They also complete capstone projects or theses that may relate to their internships.

Organizations with which students are currently working include:

• Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area
• McLean County Community Compact
• Student Volunteer Center, ISU
• Town of Normal Downtown Redevelopment Office
• Peace Corps
• Center of Hope Outreach Programs (Normal)
• Central Illinois Organizing Project (Champaign)
• Community Development Commission of Mendocino County, California
• Family Shelter Service (Chicago)
• Kankakee Community College
• Southeast Chicago Development Commission
• The Housing Partnership (Charlotte, NC)
• Wright College (Chicago)

Several students at different stages in the program will be present to describe their work and provide their views regarding the program.

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