College Links

Town/Gown Connections

Think globally, act locally... This page and its links aim to enhance cooperative, mutually beneficial relationships between the Monmouth community and Monmouth College. The Monmouth community can offer Citizenship students rich opportunities for public scholarship and service learning. Civic leaders can help teach our students the importance of "conscientious action" in defining exemplary citizenship. At the same time, college Citizenship courses can provide intellectual capital and human resources that contribute to civic improvement.

This page is designed, then, as a "bulletin board" for students, college course instructors, and Monmouth community leaders. As such it features two links:

A list of Citizenship courses presently offered and instructors' descriptions of likely project assignments for their courses;
Lists of a) public scholarship and b) service learning opportunites imagined and described by Monmouth civic leaders.

One particular aim of these links is to share information and to connect college and community through greater understanding of their respective purposes and activities. A second particular aim is to enable civic leaders, college instructors and students to match civic projects with Citizenship course assignments, and course projects with community needs.

For instance, two Citizenship courses at Monmouth College in the fall of 2008 focus on “Green Initiatives” involving wind and water. At the same time, members of a civic group in Monmouth called “Green Solutions” have recently proposed community projects that include:

Air quality studies in Monmouth: agricultural pollutants, radon, etc.
Work with the Soil and Water Conservation department on mapping watersheds and testing water samples for contaminants
Restoration of Cedar Creek (work with farmers who own land around the creek and with and “Living Lands and Waters” to clean up a body of water frequently used for illegal dumping)

As a second example, another citizenship course offered both semesters in the academic year 2008-09 is titled “Theater and Social Change.” “Green Solutions” of Monmouth has proposed commission and regular performance of “an interactive skit/play that would teach elementary and/or middle school kids about recycling and other environmental issues.”

To help promote cooperative partnerships of the kind suggested by the examples above, President Ditzler has agreed to sponsor on campus periodic meetings of civic leaders, college instructors and staff: to exchange ideas and collaborate on new town/gown project listings; and to discuss and monitor the effectiveness of emergent partnerships.

Links
Citizenship Courses Currently Offered
City of Monmouth: Public Scholarship and Service Learning Opportunities

Integrated Studies Courses

ILA Homepage

Global Perspectives Homepage

Reflections Homepage

College Resources

Mellinger Center Homepage

CAC Homepage

MC Homepage

Contact: Professor Craig Watson: E-mail

External Links