The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) has six signature programs providing high quality and meaningful public service, leadership development, and civic engagement opportunities for SF State students across the university. Whether students are interested in long-term internships or one-day volunteering opportunities, ICCE offers the Community Service-Learning (CSL) Program that helps with the coordination of the service-learning courses and university approved community partners. Below is a year-end summary of ICCE’s signature programs and the Community Service-Learning (CSL) opportunities.

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As a new semester is upon us, we reflect over the past 12 months of political chaos yet still gear up to send another class of graduates off to new horizons. What will be their fate? Whatever directions they pursue, we hope the Class of 2018 is ready to confront many serious issues affecting our humanity and our planet. As the senior class completes their final semester at SF State, they’re encouraged to remain steadfast to their studies while enjoying their last hurrah of college life!

This message is written following attendance at the recent AAC&U national conference in DC. My week started with a symposium titled: “The power of civic engagement – Across campus, within communities, beyond borders” and I was completely absorbed by the quality of various sessions during the entire convention. The caliber of professionals and scholars I met doing amazing work coast-to-coast was inspiring. Although maintaining some grain of hope is key to survival, let’s not lose consciousness about the direction of autocracy and hypocrisy this nation is headed. The current U.S. administration is inflicting damage to an overwhelming number of human lives and the devastation occurring to our natural and cultural resources is unprecedented. The role of higher education in enhancing civic-engagement includes a commitment to student action, faculty development, and community partnerships representing the fullness of all our experiences. Both civic engagement and service learning tie these diverse efforts together into a coherent whol e ( read more ) .

Exploring Opportunities as the

New Faculty Fellow for Spring 2018

           By Teresa Carrillo, Ph.D.

Ethnic Studies is a discipline defined by community-engaged scholarship; one of the aspects that Ethnic Studies scholars share in common is a fundamental commitment to scholarship for the empowerment of our communities. As I begin my semester as the first Faculty Fellow supporting the high impact programs within ICCE, I see many possibilities for articulating the rich legacy of Community Service Learning (CSL) in Ethnic Studies with the important work of ICCE. I hope to promote greater collaboration between Ethnic Studies faculty members and ICCE, for example, by programming workshops such as inviting community partners onto campus, contribute to achieving strategic plan goals, helping pilot service learning outcomes, and writing a manuscript for publication about this work. In general, I look forward to exploring the many ways we can address the needs of faculty members interested in developing service learning and community engagement in their classes and scholarship. I am hoping that once faculty members are made aware of the services offered by ICCE and the benefits of CSL, they will see the prospect of integrating community engagement in their classrooms as more viable and appealing. In the upcoming mo nths, I will be inviting faculty members to take part in an on-going process of cultivating and expanding opportunities for community-engaged scholarship so keep your eyes open for upcoming workshops and events, and if you have a particular community partner that you’d like to invite onto campus for one of these events, please contact me at [email protected] or x8-3182.  

Elementary Education Professor Ali Borjian

Explores CSL Option 

By Ricky España, ICCE Student Assistant

Dr. Ali Borjian is a professor in the Department of Elementary Education. A Fulbright Scholar, he was an elementary school teacher before receiving his Ph.D. in Language Learning and Policy from Stanford University. His multiple journal publications throughout his career are impressive including his most recent being a journal article in 2016 regarding Transnational Children in Mexico. Specifically, he writes about the context of migration and adaption, diaspora, indigenous and minority education. While Dr. Borjian has not yet previously taught a CSL course, one class he teaches, E ED 701 “Social, Cultural, and Historical Foundations of Education,” is being reviewed and explored to become an officially designated CSL class. Dr. Borjian’s key goal for this course is to examine a broad range of educational philosophies, foundational issues, and theories that have framed the educational system in the United States and their relationship to practices in the school environment. The course will also explore the complex concept of immigration through the experiences and perspectives of knowledgeable and culturally competent educators. Through this course, Dr. Borjian focuses on children who are economically marginalized and undocumented immigrants considered academically vulnerable. From a critical perspective, students examine historical, social, and cultural foundations for theoretical frameworks and pedagogical practices for the classroom. To accomplish this, Dr. Borjian will incorporate a teacher research project to help augment student learning. In general, his research interests include teacher education and context of learning for immigrant children and youth. Learn more about Dr. Borjian’s full bio and publications online .

Faculty Publication Highlight

   

Congratulations to Asian American Studies professors, Wei Ming Dariotis, Arlene Daus-Magbual, and Grace J. Yoo. They co-authored a chapter in Culturally Engaging Service-Learning with Diverse Communities, a volume in the Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design 2018 Book Series. Their paper, “ ‘What Am I Doing Here?’ Making Meaning in Culturally Engaged Asian American Community-Based Service-Learning” is the result of a study that reviews this history to contextualize current relationships and practices within institutionally structured community service-learning designated courses. A survey of students, community organization partners, and faculty engaged with Asian American service-learning in the San Francisco Bay Area reveals the benefits and challenges of culturally engaged service-learning, suggestions for best practices, and future directions.

Internship & Service-Learning Fair

We invite you to the ICCE Fall 2018 Internship & Service-Learning Fair on Feb. 6 & 7, it will be held in the Cesar Chavez Student Center Plaza Level 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be 45 organizations from the Bay Area showcasing their work and offering opportunities for individuals to get involved. Organizations will have paid or unpaid internships as well as service-learning and volunteer opportunities. Please invite your students and colleagues to learn about social justice issues, civic engagement and ways to give back to the community. Everyone is encouraged to attend!

Other CSL Announcements:

This exciting opportunity is a partnership between SF State University, the National Park Service, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The Academic Internship Program is a semester-long internship at the Golden Gate National Parks that encourages student interns to expand their learning and knowledge outside of the classroom while earning a stipend and academic credit. Student interns support the parks through various capacities such as youth and community engagement, habitat restoration, business management, law enforcement, historical interpretation, and more.

To see the full list of SF State Academic Interns visit our website .

Education Not Incarceration: Alexa Medina

The mission of ACT, Acting for Critical Thought is to offer Downtown High School, DHS students the opportunity to grow both academically in all subjects—math, science, social studies, and language arts—artistically, and socially through the study of theater and drama.

The vision of ACT is to re-engage students through the study of theater. Students should leave the program with the critical academic skills they need to live successful and meaningful lives—making informed decisions, engaging in discourse with other people, and (if they so chose) becoming revolutionaries: working to build a more equitable democracy. 

Civics Day - Jacqueline Galicia and Dimitra Lucas

Like a science fair for civics, middle and high school students from across the region gather to present their action projects on issues affecting their community to local officials and community leaders like you. It is an incredibly inspiring and powerful occasion to witness the impact of Generation Citizen’s program and youth-led change taking place in your own community.

If you are interested in more information about the program, please contact Jose R. Lopez at   j [email protected] or visit our programs online .

Each fall semester, the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, located in Monterey, provides select CSU students with an intensive two-week training course on the workings of the U.S. Congress, then sends them to Washington, DC, all expenses paid, for 11 weeks to serve for a California member in the House of Representatives. In Washington, interns will attend special seminars with government leaders, journalists, and policy experts. Students majoring in any subject are eligible to apply. The internship covers all expenses, including air travel, and food and lodging while in Monterey and in Washington, DC. Each intern also will receive a stipend to help cover other expenses. Interns may earn up to 20 semester credits through CSU Monterey for a semester.

If you are interested in more information about the program, please contact Jose R. Lopez at   [email protected] or visit our programs online .

JusticeCorps recruits and trains 250 diverse university students annually to serve in over-burdened legal self-help centers throughout California.

If you are interested in more information about the program, please contact Jose R. Lopez at   [email protected] or visit our programs online .

The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) announces nominations for the 2018 annual Civic & Community Engagement Awards. These awards honor students, faculty, and community partners whose leadership, service, and collaboration strengthen the bonds of engagement that connect the University and the community. Please join us by submitting your nomination to recognize our students, faculty, and community partners who have made outstanding contributions to our communities through service and community engaged scholarship.

Nominations are sought for the following categories:

1. Faculty Award for Excellence in Service Learning

2. Student Award for Excellence in Service Learning

3. Community Partnership Award for Excellence in Service Learning

4. Student Award for Excellence in Community Engagement

5. SF State’s Nomination to the Bay Area Jefferson Award for Public Service

Deadline for submission: Thursday, March 1, 2018. For information about award criteria, guidelines and nomination forms, visit our website. 

San Francisco State University was invited to participate as one of 12 campuses in a two-year research-to-practice initiative to examine campus climates that foster student nonpartisan political learning and engagement in democracy. The initiative is a partnership between the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) at Tisch College, Tufts University and the American Association of State Colleges and University's (AASCU) American Democracy Project (ADP). At a time of increasing concern about the health of our democracy, this is a very important initiative and SF State is pleased to be involved. Universities across the country need to learn how to create positive campus climates for learning and nonpartisan political engagement. Students across the nation must learn how to engage in, not opt out of, political life and be active not passive. Yet in the irritable, hyper-partisan political environment today, far too many campuses and students retreat from engagement, threatening the vitality and health of our democracy. This 2-year process will include (1) assessment of our campus climate, (2) campus-wide discussions involving the results of the assessment, (3) planning based on the recommendations of discussion participants, (4) beginning implementation of the recommended interventions, and (5) planning to assess and refine the interventions. ICCE will work closely with our campus lead, Dr. Jennifer Shea, Associate Professor & Graduate Coordinator, MPA Program and Associate Director, School of Public Affairs & Civic Engagement. 

Institute for Civic & Community Engagement (ICCE)

San Francisco State University

1600 Holloway Avenue, HSS 206

San Francisco, CA 94132

Email:  [email protected]

Office Main Line:  415-338-6419  | Fax:  415-338-0587