Finding higher education curricular leadership programs

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Abstract

Leadership programs that emphasize civic engagement, public service, and/or service-learning are growing rapidly, as service-learning grows nationwide. This effective practice, compiled from a National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC) "Quick Guide" and a discussion thread on the HE-SL (service-learning) e-mail discussion list in May 2004, was shared by Kara Hartmann. The practice highlights notable leadership certificate programs, academic (minor and major) programs, masters programs, summer institutes, and courses offered or being developed. These are highlights from across the United States, as well as a few international examples, and reflect a sampling as of 2008.

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Issue

Finding curricular leadership programs that emphasize civic engagement, public service, and/or service-learning.

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Action

Service-learning is growing rapidly, and programs that truly combine community service with academics are becoming more widespread. According to a Service-Learning Listserv post in May 2004, some of the most notable certificate and academic programs are as follows:

General:

  • Find examples of curricular leadership programs in the "Exemplary Programs" area of http://www.collegevalues.org.
    (Shared by Chris Bryner, Director of Student Programs, Sheldon Jackson College)

Leadership Certificate Programs:

  • Cornell College will be offering a certificate program based on the Social Change Model.
    http://www.cornellcollege.edu
    (Shared by Matt Starcke, Director of Leadership and Service, Cornell College)
  • Northwestern University offers the Undergraduate Leadership Program, an inter-school certificate program open to all Northwestern undergraduates. The program helps students understand the nature of leadership and prepares them to become leaders on campus, in the community, and in their professions http://www.northwestern.edu/ulp/
    Contact: Esther Choy, Associate Director e-choyo@northwestern.edu or Karl Simmons, Director karl-simmons@northwestern.edu
  • Northwestern also has a Service-Learning Certificate Program. Contact: Bruce Nelson, Director b-nelson5@northwestern.edu
    (Shared by Suzan S. Akin, Coordinator of Student Community Service, Northwestern University)
  • At St. Louis Community College at Meramec, discussions are underway about developing a Leadership Certificate Program, using Westminster College in Missouri as a model.
    http://www.westminster-mo.edu/
    (Shared by Donna Halsband, St. Louis Community College)
  • Saint Vincent College, a small parochial institution in rural Pennsylvania, began its successful Leadership Certificate Program in 2004. Forty-five students received a certificate. The program took place on Fridays during the spring semester. Students were required to attend at least eight out of twelve leadership seminars on different topics. Some of the seminar topics include ethical leadership, time management, leadership in action, youth leadership, sports leadership, leadership memoirs, and Catholic leadership (the school is a Benedictine institution). A few local high schools have contacted Saint Vincent to serve as consultants for similar programs. For students who completed the certificate, an Advanced Certificate in Leadership will be offered. The program will have three separate components: 1) a weekend leadership retreat; 2) an apprenticeship program, where students are matched with a mentor in their fields of study; and 3) a large-scale service-learning project in their field of study. Students will be required to spend at least 50 hours on each of these components. Thirty students have expressed interest in pursuing this next year. Contact: Jason Wagner, Director of Campus Life, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PAPhone: (724) 537-5094E-mail: jason.wagner@email.stvincent.edu
    (Shared by Celeste Pietrusza, AmeriCorps Service-Learning Coordinator, Saint Vincent College)
  • Saint Louis University Service Leadership Certificate Program
    http://www.slu.edu/cook_service_leadership.xml
    Offered through the John Cook School of Business, the Service Leadership certificate is focused on undergraduate business students who seek to serve the community and develop leadership skills. Students complete a program that includes service-learning courses, community service, and leadership seminars. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • The University of Missouri-Columbia Community Development Extension Program offers Experience in Community Enterprise and Leadership (EXCEL).
    http://extension.missouri.edu/cd/cld/
    EXCEL is more of a community-based "process" curriculum than a "content" curriculum. It is not an academic program, however, the three course Community Development Academy is offered for academic credit and comes with a certificate of completion. Contact Johanna Reed Adams for more information. (Shared by Steve Henness, VISTA Program Coordinator, 4-H/Community Youth Development VISTA Program, University of Missouri)
  • The University of Nevada, Las Vegas offers a Leadership Certificate Program
    http://getinvolved.unlv.edu/leadership/serviceprograms.html
    (Shared by Matt Starcke)
  • University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee offers an undergraduate Certificate Program in Community Organizing through the School of Education, which focuses on community change, organizing and service.  http://www.soe.uwm.edu/pages/welcome/Certification_and_Degrees/Academic_Programs/Comm_Org_Cert/
  • Also, the School of Communication offers a graduate certificate in Rhetorical Leadership. http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Grad_Sch/Publications/Bulletin/communication.html#gcrl
    (Shared by Laurie Marks, Director, UW-Milwaukee Center for Volunteerism and Student Leadership)

Courses:

  • Since 2000, all students in the School of Business at Georgia College and State University have been required to take a service-learning class. There are also other programs on the campus, but we are the first to have an across the board model.
    http://info.gcsu.edu/intranet/sob/bids.htm
    (Shared by Rick Bialac)
  • The Jepson School of Leadership Studies has an interdisciplinary and integrative curriculum of active learning at the heart of its efforts. The Justice and Civil Society class precedes formal admission into the Jepson School and signals Jepson's approach to leadership as service to society.http://jepson.richmond.edu/
  • Kansas City Art Institute
    http://www.kcai.edu/academics/community-arts-service-learning
    The Community Arts and Service-Learning program encompasses a 15-hour academic curriculum notable for its three-hour service learning internship. Students who complete the program will be eligible for a certificate in community arts. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • Murray State University Service Learning Scholars
    http://www.murraystate.edu/HeaderMenu/Offices/ServiceLearning.aspx
    Students at Murray University in Kentucky can become a Service Learning Scholar by completing 12 credits in service-learning designated courses and earning a minimum GPA of 3.0 in these courses. Students who are Service Learning Scholars are recognized at graduation, at the institutional “Honors” day, and receive a special designation on their transcripts. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • At Ohio State University I teach a course that discusses leadership with a focus on diversity and service. The website for the group that helped create the course is located at http://mundo.org.ohio-state.edu.
    (Shared by Julius W. Mayo III, Coordinator of Residence Education, Office of Housing and Residence Education, Ohio State University    )
    Phone: (614) 247-6493E-mail: mayo.2@osu.edu

Academic Programs:

  • Aquinas College offers a Community Leadership program.
    http://www.aquinas.edu/leadership/
    (Shared by Amanda A. Schafer, Associate Director, Michigan Campus Compact)
  • The Office of Leadership Studies at Birmingham-Southern College works with the Office of Service-Learning under the umbrella of the Hess Center for Leadership and Service. Jeanne Jackson directs this academic leadership program, which in 2004 celebrated its 10th anniversary at the college.
    http://www.bsc.edu/academics/special/hess_center/
    (Shared by Amanda A. Schafer, Associate Director, Michigan Campus Compact)
  • The University of Baltimore has a program in Community Studies and another in the American Humanics program. Contact: Jessica ElfenbeinE-mail: jelfenbein@ubalt.edu
    (Shared by Diane C. Fleishman Director, Community and Academic Partnerships, Millersville University)
  • Georgetown University’s Executive Master’s in Leadership (EML) program is an unparalleled and extraordinary opportunity for those who wish to become more creative and effective leaders, capable of making meaningful change within an organization. 

    The only master’s degree program of its kind offered by a prominent business school and university, the EML is an interdisciplinary program that draws on the lessons of leadership in different fields ranging from business and ethics to international relations, public policy, and behavioral sciences.
    http://msb.georgetown.edu/eml/
    (Shared by Ms. Shane M. Goldsmith, Director, Institute on Philanthropy and Voluntary ServiceDavid R. Jones Center for Leadership in Philanthropy, Washington, D.C.)

  • Salt Lake Community College Service Learning Scholars Program
    http://www.slcc.edu/thaynecenter/
    The Service-Learning Scholars program gives students an opportunity to complement their academic work with service with guidance from the Thayne Center . Service learning scholars complete 100 hours of service, ten credits of service-learning classes, and an independent project in their area of study. Students who complete these requirements receive recognition from the college in the form of a service-learning cord at commencement, notations in the commencement program, and designation on their official transcript as Service Learning Scholars. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
    http://www.unc.edu/cps/
    Program requirements for UNC Chapel Hills's Public Service Scholars Program include 300 hours of service, two service-learning class, four skills trainings, completion of a service portfolio, and a minimum GPA of 2.5. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • Virginia Tech's Residential Leadership Community is a living/learning community that focuses on civic leadership and integrates service-learning and peer education into every level of its program.http://www.housing.vt.edu/llc/
    (Shared by Amanda A. Schafer, Associate Director, Michigan Campus Compact)

Majors and Minors:

  • Assumption College Minor on Service-Learning
    http://www.assumption.edu/programs/cslm/
    The college offers a minor in Community Service Learning, jointly offered by the Sociology/Anthropology and English Departments. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • Bryant University
    http://www.bryant.edu/wps/wcm/connect/Bryant/Divisions/Academic%20Affairs/CAS/History%20and%20Social%20Sciences/
    Bryant University offers a major and a minor in service-learning and sociology. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • In the spring of 2004, California State University at Monterey Bay graduated the first recipients of a minor in Service-Learning Leadership. The Service Learning Leadership minor at CSU Monterey Bay is one of the few programs in the country to focus on the theory and practice of service-learning, preparing students to work in the service-learning field. Courses in service-learning pedagogy, course design, social justice, social change, and the application of service-learning knowledge comprise the heart of this minor.
    (Shared by Tania d. Mitchell, Coordinator of Service-Learning Leadership, California State University, Monterey Bay)
  • College of St. Catherine
    http://minerva.stkate.edu/academiccatalog.nsf/web_retrieve/mina-7la8xt?OpenDocument&prog=minor
    The College of St. Catherine offers a minor in Civic Engagement. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • Colorado School of Mines
    http://humanitarian.mines.edu/
    The Colorado School of Mines offers two undergraduate minors and an area of special
    interest in humanitarian engineering. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • DePaul University Community Service Studies
    http://cbsl.depaul.edu/css.asp
    The minor in Community Service Studies is available to all undergraduate students at DePaul University. The minor focuses on providing students a “framework for viewing community service from the perspectives of theory, ethics, and group dynamics” as well as opportunities for engagement in community-based service-learning courses. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • Emory and Henry College Public Policy and Community Service Major and Minor
    http://www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/catalog/courses/ppcs.html
    Emory and Henry College 's Appalachian Center for Community Service (http://www.ehc.edu/community-service/appalachian-center-community-service) coordinates both the major and the minor in Public Policy and Community Service. The major focuses on providing students with a background in community-centered action research and models of social change. Students emerge from the major with skills in “community building, participatory research, and leadership development.” The minor helps students apply these skills to their major areas of study. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • Fort Hays is a North Central Accredited University that offers both majors and minors and a certificate program in Leadership Studies. Also at Fort Hays is the Center for Civic Leadership, which serves as the service outreach arm of the department.
    Leadership Studies Department http://www.fhsu.edu/leadership/
    Center for Civic Leadership http://www.fhsu.edu/ccl/
    Contact: Christie Brungardt, Professor, Leadership Studies, Phone: (785) 628-4473E-mail: cjbrunga@fhsu.edu
    (Shared by Kathy Nordyke)
  • Humboldt State University Leadership Studies Minor (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
    http://www.humboldt.edu/~cops/programs/minors.html
    The Leadership Studies Minor is an effort to blend the learning that occurs through "doing" with essential classroom instruction. See also this listing of Service-Learning Courses offered: http://www.humboldt.edu/~cops/programs/service.html
    (From NSLC "Quick Guide")
  • Indiana University, Bloomington, offers an academic minor in Leadership, Ethics, and Social Action, which provides students with the opportunity to explore issues of leadership through the lens of community service. Students complete course work in introductory service-learning, ethics, and social organization. Students then complete a social action seminar that provides an opportunity to focus on a service-learning project and a capstone project to tie the minor course work and service experiences together with the academic major studies.
    http://pace.indiana.edu/capstone.shtml
    (Shared by Joelene Bergonzi, Leadership, Ethics, and Social Action Indiana University, Bloomington
    Phone: (812) 856-1747
  • Portland State University Minor in Civic Leadership
    http://www.pdx.edu/hatfieldschool/
    The Minor in Civic Leadership, developed through a partnership with the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government and the Center for Academic Excellence, consists of 27 required credit hours of coursework drawn from more than 20 courses throughout the campus. The minor is intended to create a curricular focus for students who have a broad general interest in civic leadership and community service. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • Providence College Public and Community Service Studies
    http://www.providence.edu/academics/Pages/public-community-service-studies.aspx
    Administered by the Feinstein Institute for Public Service (http://www.providence.edu/feinstein/), the major in public and community service studies involves a study of the themes of community, service, compassion, public ethics, social justice, social change, and leadership within the context of a liberal arts curriculum. The minor in Public and Community Service Studies is designed for students wishing to supplement their major with both the study and practice of public and community service. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • San Jose State University
    http://www.sjsu.edu/ccll/
    The San Jose State University service-learning minor requires three core courses: Social Problems, Community Involvement and Personal Growth, and Community Action and Service, plus three elective service-learning courses. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • Slippery Rock University
    http://www.sru.edu/pages/10655.asp
    SRU offers an academic minor in Community Service and Service-Learning in collaboration with the Institute for Community Service-Learning and Nonprofit Leadership. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • State University of New York Stony Brook Living/Learning Center Interdisciplinary Minor in Community Service Learning
    http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/ubdepts0305.nsf/pages/lcr/
    The minor in Community Service Learning is offered to all undergraduates who seek to integrate service-learning into their academic experience at SUNY Stony Brook. Students take courses focused on working with communities, social action research, and student selected courses chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor. In addition, students complete a Community Service Learning internship and a senior seminar focused on Community Service Learning. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • University of Massachusetts Boston College of Public and Community Service
    http://www.umb.edu/academics/cpcs/
    The College of Public and Community Service offers a variety of undergraduate majors and concentrations—leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, and graduate degrees in Dispute Resolution and Human Services. The focus of the College of Public and Community Service is education for students who are interested in working towards social change. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • University of Missouri Minor in Leadership and Public Service
    http://servicelearning.missouri.edu/minor.htm
    The minor in leadership and public service is offered through the University of Missouri Office of Service-Learning. The minor focuses on leadership in the context of public and community service. Minor requirements include opportunities for service-learning and public service experiences that are integrally tied to academic coursework. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")
  • The University of New Hampshire offers an associate degree in Community Service and Leadership.
    http://www.unh.edu/thompson-school/csl/
    (Shared by Kate Hanson, Program Chair)
  • University of San Francisco
    http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/ug/public_service/
    The University of San Francisco offers an honors minor in public service, a public service minor, and public service certificate program. (From the NSLC "Quick Guide.")

Masters Programs:

Internships/Summer Programs:

American University offers the Washington Semester Program, a well-established experiential education program. Students choose from among thirteen distinct semester programs allowing them to really delve into their specific field of interest. Each is unique and offers an intensive and interactive curriculum that transcends classroom learning by offering real world experience.
http://www.washingtonsemester.com
(Shared by Katharine Kravetz, Academic Director, Transforming Communities SemesterWashington Semester Program, Tenley Campus, American University, Washington, D.C.)

International:

  • The International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership (IPS-L) offers a Master's Degree in International Service (in partnership with universities in Mexico, Jamaica and the United Kingdom) that focuses on preparing students for careers in international relief and development work, including leadership in non-governmental organizations (NGOs). http://ipsl.org/node/51
    IPS-L added "Leadership" to its name in 2004 in part to recognize that service-learning at its best is about preparing a kind of leader that is different from the political or business leaders so often the subject of academic leadership programs. Leaders prepared through service-learning are more focused on the needs of the broader community and on empowering others, particularly those persons and communities that have often been marginalized or disenfranchised by existing power structures. IPS-L works in partnership with universities in fifteen locations around the world in providing undergraduate opportunities (semester, year, or summer) for students to experience this kind of leadership, and is slowly integrating more explicit leadership material in the curricula at these locations. Information on the undergraduate programs is on the web at http://www.ipsl.org/about.
    (Shared by Nevin C. Brown, Dean of Academic Programs, International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership, New York, NY)
  • The University of Colorado at Boulder offers International and National Voluntary Service Training.
    http://www.colorado.edu/servicelearning/
    Contact: Sabrina Sideris, Program Outreach Coordinator E-mail: sabrina.sideris@colorado.edu
    (Shared by Cindy Schultz, Assistant Director, Service Learning Program, University of Colorado at Boulder)

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Context

Minors and certificate programs for service-learning, community service, and leadership are a relatively new trend in higher education.

All of the listed curricular leadership programs emphasize civic engagement, public service, and/or service-learning and include:

  • Leadership minors or majors
  • Leadership certificate programs
  • Specific leadership classes that integrate service-learning

Information on service-learning minors and certificate programs can be useful for students who wish to select an educational institution that supports and promotes community engagement. These resources are also useful for higher education faculty and administrators who are seeking to design a service-learning program for their institution. Additionally, information about these programs is helpful for community partners who are looking for examples of how students can tie their community experiences into their academic studies.

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Citation

Recognizing Service-Learning in Higher Education through Minors and Certificates, developed by Rachel L. Vaughn and Sarena D. Seifer, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, June 2004.

Online at the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse: http://servicelearning.gov/instant_info/fact_sheets/he_facts/minors__certs_he/

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Evidence

According to Rachel L. Vaughn and Sarena D. Seifer, publications focusing on these types of minor and certificate programs in service-learning are scarce, and research articles are yet to be developed.

They suggest that as an area of future inquiry, researchers will study the effect that minors and certificate programs in service-learning have on students, faculty, and the community.

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Posted On

May 19, 2004

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Resources

The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse provides examples of higher education programs with minors and certificates in service-learning on their website at http://servicelearning.gov/instant_info/fact_sheets/he_facts/minors__certs_he/.
(Source: Rachel L. Vaughn and Sarena D. Seifer, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, June 2004. Updated June 2005.)

The HE-SL (Service-Learning) e-mail discussion list supports education and service.

Print Resources

  • Bardsley, A. University of Utah Service-Learning Scholars Give 4,800 Hours of Community Service. (May 8, 2003). University of Utah News and Public Relations. http://www.utah.edu/unews/releases/03/may/service.html
    Article details the recognition of 12 Service-Learning Scholars during commencement ceremonies at the University of Utah . Service-Learning Scholars complete 400 hours of community service and a minimum of 10 credit hours in service-learning courses. Scholars also complete an Integrative Service Project.
  • Hudson , W.E., Trudeau, R.H. An Essay on the Institutionalization of Service-Learning: The Genesis of the Feinstein Institute for Public Service. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning (1995) v.2, p. 150-158.
    Discussion about the development and implementation of an academic degree program in Public and Community Service Studies, and the integration of service-learning into the Providence College curriculum.
  • Holmes, J. Service Learning Certificate Program, residential learning community among endeavors SU's Center for Public and Community Service plans to undertake. Syracuse University News, January 20, 2001.

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