Duke, engage the students

The University announced in May that DukeEngage, its signature civic engagement program, will receive a $190,000 grant, which will be used to enhance the student experience both before and after their summers of service.

The grant will go toward improving pre- and post-program activities, integrating students’ in-field experiences with their other academic and social endeavors. This welcome distinction thus places the focus of DukeEngage on the students.

Although some distinct DukeEngage projects have occasionally drawn criticism, even the most productive experience will not live up to its full potential if post-immersion activities do not challenge students to apply their experiences to their lives at Duke. The grant presents an excellent opportunity for program administrators to ensure that DukeEngage is more than just an eight-week paid vacation that looks good on a resume.

With the help of this funding, DukeEngage ought to be rebranded as an ongoing form of engagement that will last throughout a student’s time at Duke, rather than an isolated experience.

Naturally, there is an incentive for DukeEngage to focus on expansion in order to provide more options for students and increase the number of available opportunities. But doing so may spread the program too thin and reduce its impact. DukeEngage should place more emphasis on preparing students to effect the most change in their program locations, as well as creating opportunities to extend their experiences further to other pursuits on campus.

The required two-day orientation that precedes the summer programs, DukeEngage Academy, offers an excellent starting point for optimizing the program experience. The academy should focus on educating students about their specific programs and the issues that will arise there, rather than generic lectures about the importance of service. These two days could be spent learning about other cultures and how shared experiences at Duke can be applied to civic engagement work.

Once students return to campus, DukeEngage should draw on aspects of other Duke programs. Some classes are offered, but the University should consider additional types of learning ventures as well. Similar to the FOCUS program, which offers a seminar-style learning experience centered on a theme, past DukeEngage participants could meet periodically to discuss ways in which they are continuing the process of civic engagement at Duke. In the same way that many majors and certificates require a capstone experience, DukeEngage could mandate a final project where students show ways in which they have combined their DukeEngage and Duke experiences.

Another method for maintaining group unity after participants’ immersive experiences would be to enhance the peer-to-peer mentoring system. For example, this system, which helps create accountability and collaboration for continuing civic engagement at Duke and Durham, could be instated in the Fall rather than in the Spring.