The University is taking major steps to improve the role of civic engagement in undergraduate education, as a result of concerns expressed in the Klein-Wells Committee’s “Engaging Excellence” report issued Jan. 15.
The report focuses on the somewhat disjointed relationship between DukeEngage and the Duke Center for Civic Engagement, and suggests ways to improve and integrate civic engagement into the Duke experience and research mission.
“Launching DukeEngage was a huge endeavor and it’s no surprise that it’s needed a lot of attention, but we realized we needed to have more than just a signature program,” said Steve Nowicki, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education. Nowicki was also the Klein-Wells Committee’s facilitator. “In people’s minds, DukeEngage and the DCCE have become conflated... We never intended for that.”
Nowicki appointed the Klein-Wells committee in March 2009 to analyze and decipher a clear mission for the DCCE. Nine faculty and staff members and two students comprised the committee. Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells and Emily Klein, senior associate dean and director of undergraduate studies at the Nicholas School of the Environment, co-chaired the Klein-Wells Committee and wrote the report.
The report defines civic engagement as an “activity that integrates academic learning, personal development and community development.” Among the committee’s findings are seven goals for the University’s value of civic engagement, including faculty ownership, financial resourcing and curricular engagement.
Klein agreed that most of civic engagement reform needs to occur within the DCCE to make it an umbrella organization of civic engagement opportunities.
“[DCCE] was created three years ago, at the same time of DukeEngage, and we recognized it would form a logical hub for coordination in practices of civic engagement,” Klein said. “Now its time to give DCCE life so it will most effectively serve the Duke community and partners.”
To accomplish this transition, the administration appointed Leela Prasad, associate professor of ethics and Indian religions, faculty director of the DCCE. Prasad will partner with Eric Mlyn, director of DukeEngage and DCCE, to develop a strategic planning system for DCCE and establish an identity for the center.
“The report correctly points out that the center does not yet have its own identity,” Mlyn said. “The appointment of Leela Prasad is the perfect thing to do as we think about strategic direction for our center.”
Klein said the appointment of a faculty director is the most important suggestion of the report.
“It allows for connections to be made between teaching and research missions,” she said. “It represents a commitment on part of the University to bring civic engagement closer to the core missions of the University—I think it is a very smart decision.”
Prasad will officially start July 1. Prasad wrote in an e-mail that she hopes civic engagement among students, faculty and staff will become more intertwined and methodical.
“I think in time we will be able to truly speak of a culture of civic engagement at Duke that doesn’t let up on its ability to be self-critical and imaginatively proactive about social change, a culture in which civic engagement is understood as an integral way of thinking and being in the world,” Prasad said.
The administration is also working to create a coordinated Web presence for DCCE, as suggested by the committee, Nowicki said. Susan Kauffman, director of undergraduate communications, is spearheading a comprehensive Web site that will gather information regarding civic engagement opportunities in one place.
“We know that civic engagement at Duke is represented in a very scattered manner across the web,” Kauffman said. “It’s difficult to get the big picture or to see how programs overlap or interact—it’s difficult for students to see how to get involved—those are some of the questions that we want to answer.”
Nowicki, Prasad, Mlyn and Lee Baker, dean of academic affairs of Trinity College, are also developing a suite of new courses to connect civic engagement and curriculum. These courses should be available in the Fall, Nowicki said.
The administration is also looking into the possibility of creating a writing class that corresponds with DukeEngage programs, Baker said.
“The preliminary plan is that it’s going to be a writing class that teaches how to write creative non-fiction,” he said. “The idea would be to use your reflections, writing and experiences, but go beyond blogging, and actually write the long-form essay, as seen in magazines like Vanity Fair.”
This summer, the administration also plans to hire global advisers to help students with planning their international experiences. The goal is to continue to connect DukeEngage, and other civic engagement experiences, to the curriculum, Baker said.
The Klein-Wells report characterized the status of civic engagement as needing improvement, coordination and focus. Administrators are looking toward inevitable change.
“I see this as a crossroads moment,” Wells wrote in an e-mail. “Either Duke integrates civic engagement into its core mission—education and research—and leads the field in its ethos and programs, or civic engagement becomes a spare-time peripheral activity for the service minded. I think it is perfectly placed to take the former route.”
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