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Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
The
Harward Center for Community Partnerships
Summary
The Harward Center for Community Partnerships was established to help
formalize Bates College’s commitment to community-based learning
and teaching.
The Practice
In recent years the College’s commitment to more active participation
in and collaboration with the communities of Lewiston and Auburn has become
a priority. Bates explored the question, How can the College institutionalize
civic engagement as a core value and activity? Partly as a result of CAPHE’s
Engaging Communities and Campuses grant program, the College
recognized the need to make permanent its commitment to civic engagement,
which already includes service-learning and community-based research as
well as business relationships and community development initiatives.
A wide array of community-based learning and teaching was presented to
the Board of Trustees for its consideration. As a result, the Harward
Center for Community Partnerships was established with significant pledges
from the Board to honor then-President Harward on his retirement. The
Center will formalize the College's commitment to community-based learning
and teaching. Reporting directly to the dean of the faculty, the Center
will underscore the pedagogical and intellectual value of community engagement.
At its outset, it will encompass the Center for Service-Learning, the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant-funded pre-college math and science
education initiatives, community-based student and faculty research, and
faculty development programs, and will serve as liaison to LA Excels—a
coalition of community leaders including two city governments, two hospitals,
three public and private colleges, businesses, and the service sector—founded
by past President Harward in 1998. Committing resources to the Center
clarifies the deep and central role that Bates places on civic engagement
as a value and strategy of liberal learning, and will ensure the legitimacy
and longevity of existing programs and the cultivation of new partnerships.
Effectiveness
The Center for Community Partnerships is still in formation. In the 2002-2003
academic year, the dean of the faculty hosted a number of focus groups
and open forums with faculty, staff, students, and community members to
discuss the Center and what it should be. Not surprisingly, opinions vary
widely, as do a wealth of creative ideas. The College is taking a comprehensive
look at where it is now and where it wants to go in the future in order
to ensure that the Center will provide the right types of support for
civic engagement and best reflect what Bates values and what the communities
value.
Resources
Visit the Harward Center for Community Partnerships website.
Contact Information
Kerry O’Brien
Assistant Dean of the Faculty
Bates College
2 Andrews Road
Lewiston, ME 04240
Phone: 207-786-6065
kobrien@bates.edu
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