Georgia College & State University
EN-13: Community Stakeholder Engagement

At Georgia College, students and faculty are encouraged to partner with community groups to address mutually identified needs and to promote public well-being through teaching, learning, scholarship, and outreach. ENGAGE offers workshops, grants, support for conference travel and opportunities to network with community partners.

Stage 01: > Vision planning > Develop potential themes Stage 02: > Collect and review stakeholder feedback > Make theme recommendations to University President Stage 03: > Collect and review stakeholder feedback > Refine topic and establish goals Stage 04: > Research best practices > Develop learning outcomes and assessment strategy Implementation Planning Stage 05: > Collect and review stakeholder feedback > Develop implementation plan (budget, activities & timeline) > Draft Plan for submission

Baldwin Family Connections A collaboration of community partners seeking to plan and implement strategies so that families, children and youth in Baldwin County are becoming healthy, well-educated, safe and self-sufficient. (http://baldwin.gafcp.org) Communities in Schools Works to keep children in school so that they can learn, grow and prepare for college, for a career and for life. (http://milledgeville.communitiesinschools.org) Campus Club Milledgeville (CCM) Delivers arts-based education programming to in-school youth aged 7 to 18 in middle Georgia. CCM also provides adult education and artistic training to families looking for a rewarding educational and cultural experience. (http://campusclubmilledgeville.org) Volunteer Milledgeville Supports the needs of non-profit groups in our community, but focuses primarily on those who rely on volunteers. Their website includes a current, working list of all non-profit groups, their mission, needs and contact information. There will be a calendar of events that will enable the community to see volunteer opportunities. (http://volunteermilledgeville.org) Oconee Suicide Prevention Coalition Supports a variety of suicide prevention services throughout Georgia. Originally focused on developing coalitions within public health districts, the coalition building initiative has moved to supporting coalitions within communities and smaller regions to better focus services and involve citizens. (http://oconeesuicidepreventioncoalition.org) Boys and Girls Club Enables young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. (http://boysgirlsclubbaldwinjones.org) Milledgeville Cares Provides a means whereby service agencies, as well as faithbased institutions, can efficiently work together providing basic necessities, emotional support and information sessions, as needed, in a time of challenge and opportunity. (www.milledgevillecares.com) Habitat for Humanity Provides opportunities for families by partnering with them to build decent, affordable housing and improving the quality of life of Habitat's partner families, the neighborhoods in which they live and the community as a whole. (www.milledgevillehabitat.org) Harrisburg Neighborhood Association Supports citizens in Harrisburg, a neighborhood in South Milledgeville, by providing safe activities for children and adults including afterschool programs and a community garden. Oconee Area Citizen Advocacy Facilitates connecting community members with people whose lives are diminished because of prejudice toward disability. (http://oconeeareacitizenadvocacy.org)

Valerie Aranda, Art and Dr. Sandra Godwin, Sociology, coteach a course entitled "Art & Social Justice." This upperlevel course explores social theories of empowerment and community life and the way the visual arts, especially public murals, convey citizens’ history, values and aspirations. Pre and post-course surveys relative to engaged scholarship and ongoing reflective writing and discussion provide for student dialogue about their learning. This year, students in the class are working with a neighborhood where residents are revitalizing their community with a neighborhood garden, fitness trails and community center programs. The students will collaborate with citizens to design and paint a mural. Dr. Godwin says, "I am really excited about this course, especially since this year we have the opportunity to be a pilot course for the Quality Enhancement Plan. This semester, compared to the previous times we have taught the course, we will more formally assess students' learning as a result of their collaboration with community members on a mural project.” Students in Dr. Jan Clark's Rhetoric practicum course have hosted community-wide viewings on front campus of the televised national presidential candidate debates since 2004, created a Baldwin County Voter's Directory of all elected and appointed city, county, state and national representatives and conducted voter education and registration presentations in classes as well as community locations. Dr. Clark says, "The experiences they get through this class make our students so well equipped to serve their future communities as informed citizen advocates." Gregg Kaufman, Government & Sociology, an adjunct faculty member, teaches a core curriculum GC1Y Critical Thinking 1000 course called Public Deliberation. The course is designed to help students explore the role of citizen involvement in community problem solving. Students learn neutral facilitation skills as well as how to research, design, produce and use an issue book for facilitation based on a National Issues Forum model for deliberative forums. “I marvel at the positive comments students make after facilitating a forum in the community. Students return to class with confidence in their ability to help citizens work through complex issues. They leave the course with practical skills and an understanding of the capacity for citizens' political activity,” said Kaufman.