Fall 2023 CPPSET Newsletter

"Transforming passion to action" is a phrase that a group of student and community, faculty, and staff folks settled on several years ago in an effort to identify the focus of the work of our Center. An earlier effort along the same lines endorsed the phrase, "Putting our core values to work in the world," which came to us from Becky Gibson a former member of our faculty. Found in these words is a deeply held conviction that higher education--a Guilford education in some unique ways--encourages us to apply our knowledge, convictions, and passions to the problems and needs of our world. And our teaching and learning community not only embraces disciplinary knowledge, facilitates engagement, and grants degrees, but it thoughtfully prepares students for meaningful praxis that can generate positive change in the world.

The focus on enlightened praxis, of course, is not the only purpose of higher education or of the Guilford College educational experience. And Guilford--as it should--puts much of its energy into facilitating the intellectual, moral, and practical development required for students to engage our world in meaningful and effective ways. Still, I believe the work of CPPSET represents a foundational aspect of why Guilford exists and who Guilford is. We invite you to join us in making a positive impact in your community, regardless of the phrase that captures your passion.

Mark

Note: Like so many, my heart is heavy and my mind is rattled by the recent events in Israel and Palestine. I support the immediate cessation of violence and urge my government to do all it can to facilitate a long-term resolution that includes freedom and sovereignty for the Palestinian people. I also think Guilfordians need to engage in thoughtful discussion on these issues informed by broad knowledge and that each of us should engaged in meaningful action as we are compelled.

• Announcements
• Selected Activities
  
• Grants To Support Your Work
• Ethical Leadership White Paper Call
  

• People, Programs, and Updates
• Other Opportunities to Consider!
  
• About CPPSET

Fifteen PPS scholars have been selected for an exciting opportunity to explore issues of forced migration and displacement through the PPS Scholars Program in Spring 2024. The program will begin by looking at forced displacement in Greensboro before taking scholars for two weeks to Dharamshala, India, where they will examine Tibetan refugee resettlement. The scholars will complete a 2 credit course during the 14 week session on campus, followed by an intensive 4 credit course in India during the 3 week session. This unique study abroad component allows students to first examine local displacement issues, then see firsthand the global impacts of displacement while learning from local and global changemakers. Sonalini Sapra and Zhihong Chen will teach the 2023-2024 PPS Scholars Seminar.

With election season approaching, CPPSET is fostering voter registration and education efforts in partnership with groups like the League of Women Voters. These nonpartisan initiatives will ensure students know how to register to vote, obtain absentee ballots if needed, and locate polling places. We will also provide resources on candidates and issues on the ballot to help inform voting decisions. This semester, CPPSET has also sponsored students to travel to voter engagement summits and workshops that build skills in bipartisan dialogue such as the 2023 CSNAP Conference at NC State University and sponsored a training session led by Christian Matheis focused on developing skills among participants in the areas of Policy Analysis, Policy Advocacy on Behalf of Marginalized Groups, Forming a Policy Agenda and Crafting a Lobbying Strategy.

A new internship for students undertaking internships with a Principled Problem Solving or Ethical Leadership focus will begin in 2024. Supported by the PPS Endowment, students from any major or area of interest will receive financial and mentoring support as they explore personal and vocational interests while advancing PPS or EL priorities. PPS Internships have previously been connected with the PPS Scholars Program but will now be available to students across the campus. Check out the list of PPS internships undertaken by Guilford students over the last 15 years. More details to follow!

This Fall, we welcomed our second group of Ethical Leadership Fellows--7 to be exact--from Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and various parts of North Carolina. They have diverse interests ranging from Law, Theatre, Education, Ministry, and more. Two are serving their ELF hours in Quaker Leadership Scholars, two through Bonners, and the other 3 are assisting admissions, serving in student leadership offices, and providing community-building Friday night meals for students.

For the second annual Ethical Leadership Conference, 120 students registered from all across campus to attend 3 out of 11 different workshops and hear a lunch time keynote by our impressive and enthusiastic recent 2017 alum Devon Murphy Anderson, co-founder of Mi Vecino political consulting in Florida. She shared how students should use their time at Guilford College to springboard their careers into impactful, ethical leadership. We ended with a collaborative activity and reflection on Ethical Leadership.

At the conference, we also launched the Certificate in Ethical Leadership, which organizes leadership and ethical developmental stages into 11 badges earned through workshops, service, and online reflection. Once completed, students have bragging rights, a stohl, a certificate, and a resume credential that marks them as an ethical leader.

From October 27-29, 2022, CPPSET collaborated with the North Carolina Climate Justice Collective and several Guilford departments to host an immersive Climate Justice Weekend. This innovative event provided an interactive learning experience focused on climate change solutions. The weekend kicked off on Friday the 27th with a one-of-a-kind performance that integrated spoken word, music, murals and puppets to engage attendees. By aligning with nature internally and externally, participants reflected on restoring balance in a world facing ecological and social harms. The production highlighted inspiring ways we can mend the web of life. Over the course of the weekend, attendees examined creative solutions to the climate crisis. The North Carolina Climate Justice Collective led hands-on workshops that allowed our community to gain a deeper understanding of environmental justice while exploring answers to an existential threat.

• Internal grants for educational development are available for all teaching faculty. These grants are administered by the Faculty Development committee. Please look here for the available educational development funding sources, relevant guidelines, and possible uses. You may apply to more than one fund at a time. Please note that projects can often only be partially funded as we try to spread resources across more faculty, but please submit your entire budget so we can fund as much as possible.

  
  

  Faculty Development Grant application deadlines fall throughout the year: September 30, November 30, January 30, March 30, and May 1.
  After reviewing the available options, please fill out this application by the next deadline.

  
  

• The PPS Endowment continues to offer Principled Problem Solving, Ethical Leadership, and Excellence in Teaching grants for faculty and staff for work that advances values-based teaching, learning, and engagement. Support for individuals, departments, or programs are described on the Center's Grant Applications page.

CPPSET has received a dozen applications for Educational Development, Excellence in Teaching, Principled Problem Solving and Ethical Leadership support this semester. Upwards of $15,000 in funds have been awarded to faculty, staff, and students.

The Ethical Leadership focus continues to develop across our campus and in our community outreach. One key component of this is drawing our academic programs into the work of Ethical Leadership in a manner consistent with disciplinary and departmental priorities. To help us encourage this, CPPSET is offering stipends for individuals or departments interested in writing white papers to explore the following:

• How the history, method, content, or problems of your particular discipline might enhance Guilford students' understanding, goals, and practices related to ethical leadership.

• How a more intentional focus on ethical leadership in your discipline might inform and advance the work of the discipline itself.

Any teaching faculty or educational support faculty member can write a white paper for their department or for an academic program they are affiliated with (including interdisciplinary majors, as well as minors). A stipend of $1000 will be awarded to an individual author. If there is a team of authors for a white paper, the lead author will receive the full stipend and affiliated authors $500. The paper should be around 10 pages long, though it can be longer.

This is a rolling invitation with deadlines arranged with the author upon completion of a brief proposal. The EL White Paper application can be found here.

Here are some selected activities.

• We hosted two “Teaching Wicked Students” course design institute in May and August where faculty worked collaboratively to design courses that provide students the competencies necessary to solve wicked problems in their fields, i.e., problems that are complex and that require interdisciplinary collaboration and new ways of thinking.

• This semester we are launching our Students as Partners (SaP)" initiative – an innovative approach where students become active collaborators in shaping their educational experiences. This workshop is co-sponsored by the Faculty Development Committee and will be held on Friday, Dec 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in King Hall 126. We’ll also provide more information about a “Students as Partners” grant program (interest forms due Spring 2024). This program will empower faculty to put the principles of SaP into action with the support of dedicated resources from CPPSET.

The Office of Global and Off-Campus Initiatives (GOCI) serves 2 primary functions in the Guilford College campus community: international student support and study away and study abroad administration. Guilford College is truly unique in supporting staff and faculty with designing and leading three-week and full-semester curricularly-embedded study away and study abroad programs. To learn more, please engage with GOCI online at these links:

• International Student Support Services: https://www.guilford.edu/international-student-information-and-services

• Study away and study abroad: https://GOCI.Guilford.edu

• Follow GOCI on Instagram @GC.GOCI: https://www.instagram.com/gc.goci/

  
  

International Student Support

Guilford College welcomed 27 international students from 20 different countries this fall. They have already invested significant effort to acclimate to the U.S. and (Southern) culture. This group of students is engaged in student leadership opportunities such as International Club, Quaker Leader Scholars, Quaker Cupboard, Quaker Closet, Theatre productions, baseball, tennis, soccer, basketball.

They have also requested support for graduate school letters of recommendation, obtaining social security numbers, internship and volunteer opportunities, and on-campus employment. With some of our international students planning to graduate in Spring 2024, I am also in the process of preparing them for Optional Practical Training (OPT) which is a program for F-1 student visa holders to remain in the U.S. to work in roles related to their degree programs.

Please note that many of our international students are actively monitoring the geopolitical landscape. With ongoing genocide in Palestine, the Black Sea attack, ongoing othering of Latinxs in the U.S., and anticipated environmental displacement due to this year’s El Niño patterns, our international and diaspora students are experiencing a higher-than-normal amount of stress. Please join me in welcoming and supporting them!

Study Away and Study Abroad

This Fall, 4 Guilford students are engaged in semester study abroad and away programs. Ellie Dieth (‘25) and Clara Fuehler (‘24) are participating in the immersive environmental and conservation Oregon Extension program. Noah West (‘24) is conducting field research in Australia. Madison Sugg (‘24) is in Indonesia.

Several staff and faculty have been working tirelessly to bring an incredible roster of three week intensive study away and abroad programs to fruition. Please congratulate this group on their extensive labor, planning, and coordination to offer our students these rich curricular away and abroad experiences! In alphabetical order:

Alnwick Castle (UK) Christine Stracey (Biology) and Michele Malotky (Biology)

Fantastic Journeys: The National Parks (California) Damon Akins (History)

International Model of Sport (New Zealand) Michael White (Sports Studies)

Mexican Economy: Past and Present (Mexico) Natalya Shelkova (Economics)

Mindfulness and Intersectional Action (Kyoto, Japan) Eric Mortensen (Religious Studies) and Liz Nicholson (Friend’s Center, Quaker Leadership Scholars Program)

PPS Scholars (Dharamshala, India) Sonalini Sapra (CPPSET, Political Science) and Zhihong Chen (History)

Dave Limburg and Lavon Williams are also bringing back the Guilford in Munich program for Fall 2024. If you know of interested students, please direct them to Dave and Lavon. Be on the lookout for their info sessions and a program brochure soon (GOCI.Guilford.edu).

GOCI is also accepting short term study away and abroad program proposals from now through Saturday, 3/30. Please connect with Cathryn (interim director) to discuss the process or attend an upcoming program leader interest meeting.

• ECAR held its second annual gathering at Wake Forest University on October 6th and 7th. Over 100 individuals from ECAR chapters, refugee resettlement organizations, and students groups participated.
  
• ECAR welcomed new chapters to its network and launched AHLAN: A Manual for Establishing Resettlement Campuses Together.
• ECAR has also been delivering certificate bearing trainings to higher education institutions and to community based organizations through partnerships with the National Association of System Heads, Opening Universities for Refugees, and Guilford College.

Roundtable Discussion: Promoting Student Classroom Engagement

Time: Wednesday, November 29, 2023, 3:45 - 5:15 PM

Location: The Collaboratory, Hege Library 2nd floor

You don’t want to miss this! On Wednesday, November 29, 3:45-5:15 p.m., six faculty members (Dave Hildreth, Rachel Riskind, Christian Matheis, David Limburg, Karen Spira, and Katy Collier), two CAPE advisors who teach first-year students (Amber Slade, Jon Bohland), and four students from different class years (Tay Maxwell, Connor Moran, Miguel Nunez Palomares, and Jacob Mitchell) will lead a roundtable discussion on strategies to promote student classroom engagement. Dave Hildreth will share the results of a survey he recently distributed to a number of high school teachers about student learning and engagement. All faculty are invited. Refreshments will be served.

PACE Conference at Guilford College
Proposal Deadline: Friday, November 17, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
Conference date and location: February 14, 2024, Guilford College
North Carolina Campus Engagement’s PACE conference, now in its 26th year, is for faculty,
administrators, researchers, community partners, and graduate students who want to gain skills,
knowledge and best practice models for a spectrum of community and civic engagement
pedagogies and practices. The conference will be held on February 14, 2024, at Guilford College.
We are seeking presentations on efforts to integrate democratic engagement into campus culture.
See Call for Proposals. Open to faculty, staff, administrators, and students.

CFP 2024 Conference on Engaged Learning at Elon University

Proposal Deadline: Feb 1, 2024.
Conference Date and Location: July 14-15, 2024 at Elon, North Carolina

The Center for Engaged Learning (CEL) at Elon University invites proposals for the 2024 Conference on Engaged Learning (July 14-15, 2024; Elon, North Carolina). Proposals are due February 1, 2024.

The annual Conference on Engaged Learning showcases cutting-edge research on engaged learning.

• The Center for Principled Problem Solving and Excellence in Teaching develops and promotes the knowledge, mind-sets, and skills necessary for values-based problem solving and significant positive social, political, and economic change.

• CPPSET is a unique academic center that creates and supports both credit-bearing and co-curricular efforts with an engaged teaching and learning focus. The Center and its affiliated faculty develop innovative programming guided by a commitment to academic excellence, the college's core values, and Guilford's Quaker heritage.
  

• The Guilford College PPS Endowment supports focused efforts in the areas of Principled Problem Solving, Ethical Leadership, and Excellence in Teaching.
  

• To find out more, visit our website or email us at cppset@guilford.edu.