american democracy project Archives - Page 2 of 3 - The Democracy Commitment (TDC)

Free Webinar to TDC Members, by Texas Campus Compact

February 21, 2012 TDC Opportunities for Members

Alberto Olivas, director of Center for Civic Participation for Maricopa Community College District and steering committee member for The Democracy Commitment, is keynoting a webinar for Texas Campus Compact on Thursday, February 23^rd, 2012 from 1:30pm-2:30pm CST. As TDC members, you have free and unlimited access to this webinar (normal fees: Texas residents-$35, all others-$100.)

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**“Componentes: Rethinking Student Civic Engagement”**

This webinar will provide information about how meaningful civic engagement has direct bearing on both student success outcomes and institutional performance outcomes. The presenter will use case studies to discuss various aspects of civic engagement in a higher education institution, and provide tools that higher education professionals can use to enrich students’ levels of engagement throughout their college experience.

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To participate in this webinar, email your RSVP to [email protected] with “TDC: Service Learning Rocks” in the subject or body of the email. You will receive the log-in information in a response email on the day before the webinar.

To view the web browser invite, please click here.

CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT: Tarrant County College District

February 15, 2012 Uncategorized

The Democracy Commitment is honored to announce our newest community college member, Tarrant County College District.

Tarrant County College was established by a countywide election on July 31, 1965, as Tarrant County Junior College, the name change coming in 1999. The South Campus opened in 1967, followed by Northeast (1968), Northwest (1976), Southeast (1996) and Trinity River Campus (2009). The Trinity River East Campus for Health Care Professions opened in downtown Fort Worth, just blocks away from the Trinity River Campus, in the fall of 2011. The College District is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees elected for staggered six-year terms in single member districts.

Enrollment growth has been steady throughout recent years. The South Campus, at 4,772, had the largest opening-day enrollment of any community college in the nation up to that time. Overall credit student enrollment passed the 20,000 mark in 1980 and exceeded 50,000 in the fall of 2011. As of 2012, TCC is the sixth-largest college or university in Texas.

Tarrant County College is committed to creating an enriching environment where students become active citizens involved in their communities by providing opportunities and resources to engage in service oriented community activities.

Under the leadership of Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley, five exceptional campus presidents will be working toward democratic engagement on all the Tarrant County College campuses.

Welcome, Tarrant County College!

PDF of The New York Times ad released

February 14, 2012 Publications

The New York Times released to The Democracy Commitment a PDF version of the ad celebrating the launch of TDC and honoring those member institutions dedicated to civic engagement on their campuses! We are, as ever, deeply grateful to The New York Times Knowledge Network for their endorsement and for their dedication to preparing informed, engaged citizens in community colleges across the nation

Along with the celebratory ad, education division included the Knowledge Network course guide for information regarding The New York Times opportunities and offerings for your campus.

National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Grant is Officially Open!

February 2, 2012 TDC Opportunities for Members

The Democracy Commitment and the Association of American Colleges and Universities invite applications from community colleges to participate in a three-year faculty and curriculum development civic learning project, Bridging Cultures to Form a Nation: Difference, Community, and Democratic Thinking. TDC and AAC&U will be supported in these efforts by a distinguished group of humanities scholars and seasoned educational leaders. Interested community colleges are asked to propose specific curriculum and faculty development strategies in high-enrollment humanities courses to deepen students’ understanding of difference, community, and democratic thinking and share that growing knowledge through partnerships with community colleges and state humanities councils.

To advance this work, the ten selected institutions will receive a $7,500 award and commit $3,500 in institutional matching funds to support faculty development activities.

For more information on the grant and submission process, please click here.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact Amee Bearne, National Coordinator for TDC either through email or phone (202.478.4675).

The New York Times Honors The Democracy Commitment!

February 2, 2012 Publications

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The New York Times is honoring The Democracy Commitment (TDC) on Sunday, February 5^th! The New York Times Knowledge Network, which is an education division of The Times, is publishing an insert on education which will reach an estimated 8,000,000 readers. The full back page of the insert recognizes The Democracy Commitment and its partner, the American Democracy Project. All TDC member institutions are listed and recognized as community colleges dedicated to civic learning and democratic engagement.

The Democracy Commitment and The New York Times Knowledge Network are partners in their commitment to support civic practice and democratic action in higher education through coursework and programs on campus. Join us in celebrating our civic work together!

Please watch for The Democracy Commitment in The New York Times on Sunday, February 5^th.

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DOWNLOAD AD HERE

Higher Education Exchange Interview with TDC founder, Bernie Ronan: COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND CIVIC LEARNING

January 24, 2012 Publications

The Democracy Commitment (TDC) co-founder, Bernie Ronan gave an interview with the Kettering Foundation positing that the work of TDC is more important than ever.

“Colleges must be intentionally democratic; it is not something that happens by chance. This intentionality must be evidenced in how student government runs, in the way clubs operate on a campus, in how students are treated by their faculty, in how faculty engage with each other as colleagues, in how administration runs the school, and so forth. It is what we hope to instill through The Democracy Commitment: not just better civic experiences for students, but also an enhanced sense of the college as a civic agent that embodies in its practices the values and principles we as democratic citizens profess.” -page 7

Bernie also suggests that civic skills are just as important as job skills, because they are essentially the same!

“Civic skills and workplace skills are congruent with each other. Here, I don’t mean the technical skills—how to run a lathe, or program a silicon wafer. Rather, I see the congruence in what have come to be called “soft skills”—the ability to problem-solve as a team, to work together with others from diverse backgrounds, to negotiate conflicts and solve problems, to come together around shared values. And this congruence creates exciting synergies between occupational training and civic education. However, it also suggests that whenever academic instruction is developing the savvy, empathy, and political skills needed to exercise citizenship, a faculty member is teaching a student critically important employability skills as well.” -page 10

Take a look at the interview; it’s a quick and enlightening read. You won’t regret it.

CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT: Harrisburg Area Community College

January 12, 2012 Uncategorized

The Democracy Commitment is proud to announce our newest member institution, Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), “Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.”

“Established on February 14, 1964 as Harrisburg Area Community College, HACC is devoted to the community and the individual. HACC’s devotion to the community stems directly from our mission, which is to foster educational, cultural, work force development, and economic growth of the college service areas. The vehicle by which we do this is to give each of our students (the individuals) the tools and environment to develop his or her own unique potential. This creates an aura by which the communities HACC serves and each individual in those communities can benefit.”*

President John J. “Ski” Sygielski feels The Democracy Commitment is an “important nationwide initiative [that will] engage students in civic learning and democratic practice.”

We are excited to continue our work and expand the importance of civic and democratic engagement in central Pennsylvania through efforts with HACC.

Welcome to The Democracy Commitment!

*Harrisburg website, “About Us” page. http://www.hacc.edu/AboutUs/index.cfm

White House launch video now available!

January 11, 2012 Publications, TDC Events

Yesterday at the White House, The Democracy Commitment had the honor of attending “For Democracy’s Future” an event calling to the forefront of U.S. current issues the need for democratic education and civic engagement in American schools and higher education. It was a fantastic event that featured Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Under Secretary Martha Kanter and many other institution and organization presidents and representatives committed to the enhancement of citizen mobilization in our great country.

The event was streamed live and has been archived on the White House YouTube channel. It can be accessed here. (Pay special attention to 38:30 when Brian Murphy, president of De Anza College and co-founder of The Democracy Commitment speaks about our work and our dedication to this great cause.)

Also, for those who had a difficult time finding a working link for “A Crucible
Moment: College Learning & Democracy’s Future,” it can be found here.

We hope those of you who were able to watch the event via live stream are as inspired as we are to continue teaching America about the need for active democratic citizens. For those of you who were unable to partake in the event, we hope you will watch, read and join the efforts of thousands of students and higher education academics who passionately believe and fight for the right to have a seat at the table of democracy.

Invitation to watch White House launch, Jan. 10, 2012, launching “For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission.”

January 9, 2012 Publications, TDC Events

Following the announcement of the January 10th, 2012 White House launch for the American Commonwealth Partnership, new materials were released for those groups wishing to watch the event and engage in dialogue similar to those discussions taking place in the untelevised breakout sessions.

The first is the program for the day so that all watching may follow along.

Download “Program”

The second is an optional discussion guide for group dialogue surrounding topics addressed at the launch.

Download “Discussion Guide”

The event is being live streamed at www.WhiteHouse.gov/live, and we invite you to participate by viewing it online. We encourage you to:

tune in on January 10;
invite others to join you, organize their own event, or watch on their own; and
use this occasion to renew and announce your commitments to educating students for citizenship.

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WHAT: For Democracy’s Future: Education Reclaims Our Civic Mission
WHEN: Tuesday, January 10, 2012
TIME: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM EST (Streaming will be interrupted from approximately 4:00pm EST to 5:30pm EST to accommodate live breakout discussions at the event. Those watching the live stream are encouraged to concurrently participate in discussions using the attached “Discussion Guide” during the break.)
WHERE: www.WhiteHouse.gov/live
RSVP: Email [email protected] with “Live Stream” in the subject to let us know you’ll view the event online, or with “Satellite Event” in the subject if you will host a viewing session for others.

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For more information, please contact:
Amee Bearne, National Coordinator
The Democracy Commitment
[email protected]

White House Launch of American Commonwealth Partnership Streamed Live

January 6, 2012 TDC Events

The Democracy Commitment will be participating in a White House event launching the American Commonwealth Partnership (ACP) and marking the release of an AAC&U Report A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

This event will be streamed live on the internet on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live.

The American Commonwealth Partnership is a new collaboration between national organizations and colleges and universities known for their commitment to advancing civic learning and democratic engagement, such as the American Democracy Project, Imagining America, Winona State University, the Kettering Foundation, Northern Arizona University, CIRCLE, Western Kentucky University, NERCHE, and the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at Augsburg College. The American Commonwealth Project is undertaking a yearlong “For Democracy’s Future” initiative to promote higher education as an agent of democracy and a force for public good. For more information about ACP, read a previous blog post here.

The ACP also has an active social media campaign, DemocracyU. All are invited to contribute to their blog (http://democracyu.wordpress.com/), and to interact with ACP on Facebook (www.facebook.com/democracyu) and Twitter (@democracyu).

A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future is a report that maps the next generation of college and university efforts regarding civic learning and democratic engagement. The report is informed by the collective recommendations of civic leaders who participated in a series of national roundtables sponsored by AAC&U, the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, and the U.S. Department of Education.

I encourage you to tune into this important event. The Democracy Commitment is honored to be participating in the American Commonwealth Partnership, a national effort to promote higher education’s democratic and civic missions.