Today’s tip is brought to you by Patti Horsley and Ellie Ertle from the Office of Civic Engagement.
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nts often struggle to connect course content outside the classroom. This can lead to uncomfortable classroom moments with questions like “why would I ever need to know this?” and “who cares about this?” CSU, Chico is a national leader at answering this question with civic engagement, our newest strategic priority.
Simply put, civic engagement is helping students engage with real problems and opportunities in the community and world in which they live. Chico State faculty have a rich history of civic engagement – whether it is working with community leaders to research and address local issues, teaching lessons in schools, or engaging students in service learning projects. In doing so, we create space for students to learn more about themselves as well as about how they can use their unique talents, and academic expertise to impact the world for the better.
Civic Engagement provides a host of benefits for students and faculty members. It fosters student growth by enhancing academic engagement and performance, increases the likelihood of graduation and positively impacts understanding of civic involvement, community roles, democracy and public life. With the new strategic priority, faculty can now connect their civic engagement work specifically to the service section of RTP.
Chico State values civic engagement and education for the public good. It may seem intimidating, but there are resources on campus to facilitate these opportunities for your courses. The Office of Civic Engagement (OCE) can help you incorporate civic engagement into your curriculum in a way that works for you, your class and your students. For more information, visit OCE’s website or email us at oce@csuchico.edu.
Check out these upcoming civic engagement opportunities:
- Civic Engagement Forum: Join us May 2nd, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm in Colusa 100 and dialogue with Chico State students as they showcase their civic engagement projects! This is a great opportunity to get ideas for your future civic engagement work!
- Know someone doing great work? Nominate them for the 2016 Civic Engagement Recognitions! OCE is proud to celebrate civic engagement achievements at Chico State by recognizing excellence in civic engagement among Chico State faculty, academic departments/ centers/programs, student organizations and community partners. For more information or to submit a nomination, please visit our website at www.csuchico.edu/civic/.
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