Civic Agency
The Civic Agency Initiative is a partnership between the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the Humphrey Institute's Center for Democracy and Citizenship. The project seeks to further develop and implement the concept of civic agency. The product of this partnership will be a series of national models for creating civic agency among undergraduates, and to disseminate those models broadly throughout American higher education. The goal of the initiative is to create widespread knowledge about "what works," to build civic agency, and to strengthen civic identity and practices of AASCU schools, including civic learning and public scholarship. The project combines the strategic and leadership position of AASCU schools in civic with the pioneering theoretical and practical work of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship.
The Georgia College Civic Agency Initiative is led by a planning group of professors and administrative staff members and guided by the following vision statement.
The Georgia College Civic Agency Initiative will build on the success of its civic engagement programs by incorporating the ideas of democracy, diversity, and globalization into a vibrant dialogue in and beyond the classroom.
In anticipation of the 2010-2011 Academic Year, the Civic Agency Initiative group accepted a recommendation from the Office of the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs to organize a community engagement showcase to coincide with the annual Student Research Conference in April 2011. The first planning step involves gathering a list of professors and courses related to community engagement. This step is described on the ADP web site's Active Citizenship pages.
At a December 2009 workshop, The GC Civic Agency Planning Group reviewed progress on the following projects:
- The Georgia Rural Economic Empowerment Network (GREEN), a collaboration of university faculty, students, and Central Georgia mayors and economic development leaders.
- Obesity Prevention through Community Gardening and Bike Paths, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant.
- Paideia and the Liberal Arts University: The Civic Engagement Experience, a Georgia College survey of faculty and students engaged in civic learning.
- The YES Apprentice Institute, an after school work readiness program utilizing Work Keys, a national standards-based, pre-technical school program.
- Fall Semester 2009 academic courses with civic engagement components.
- GC Public Achievement Program.
- Faculty Workshop Sereis: a NSF sponsored initiative working to infuse civic engagement into the science (and general core) curricula at US universities.
ADP Civic Agency Universities
• Armstrong Atlantic State University
• California State University Sacramento
• Castleton State College
• Central Connecticut State University
• Florida A & M University
• Fort Hays State University
• Georgia College & State University
• Indiana State University
• Kentucky State University
• Lincoln University
• Longwood University
• Minnesota State University
• Portland State University
• San Francisco State University
• Texas Woman's University
• University of Arkansas-Fort Smith
• University of Central Missouri
• University Of Maryland - Baltimore County
• University Of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
• Western Carolina University
• Western Kentucky University
Partner Organizations
The New York Times
Humphrey Institute's Center for Democracy and Citizenship
