The 2010-11 Service Leadership Cohort
The Service Leadership Cohort – a service group consisting of six Gustavus Adolphus College students that conducts community based research in the co-curricular arena – received the Presidents’ Student Leadership Award from the Minnesota Campus Compact in mid-June.
Service Leadership Cohort (SLC) members for the 2010-11 academic year were Lee Kenyon, Mary Ellen Korby, Max Lantz, Brett Paulsen, Justin VerMeer, and Hannah Wangberg.
The Presidents’ Student Leadership Award is given to an individual student or a student organization that models a deep commitment to civic responsibility and leadership, evidenced by initiative, innovative and collaborative approaches to addressing public issues, effective community building, and integration of civic engagement into the college experience.
The SLC works in partnership with other students, staff/faculty, and community partners to examine challenges that further the access to and quality of service for Gustavus student-led programs that impact the community of St. Peter. The SLC is in its pilot year, and has participatory qualitative research projects regarding Benchmarks of Service – examining high standards of service that directly impact the service programs and set the standard to be achieved; Learning Outcomes – establishing explicit learning outcomes for students who participate in the on-going service programs offered by the Center for Servant Leadership; and Internal Partnerships – exploring how the on-going community service programs can work more intentionally in partnership to share best practices and support each other in providing quality service.
All of the research conducted by the SLC results in proposals supplied to the Center for Servant Leadership. The SLC conducts research through interviews with program coordinators, program volunteers and participants, and community partners to ensure equal voice for all vested parties in the development of proposals.
Through their work, the SLC increases the capabilities of students engaged in service and deepens their own ethic of service and commitment to the community. By the nature of their efforts, the SLC engages in a reciprocal partnership with the community – each side has a voice in the process and the outcomes are mutually beneficial; the community receives a better quality of service, while the students deepen their understanding of partnership, increase their own leadership capabilities, and serve the community to create a more just and peaceful society.
Minnesota Campus Compact leverages the assets of higher education institutions in partnerships with communities to educate students and develop creative solutions to pressing public issues, including access to health care and high-quality education. Minnesota Campus Compact is the only higher education coalition in the state that includes public and private; two-year and four-year; urban, suburban and rural campuses dedicated to the civic purposes of higher education.
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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
luch@gustavus.edu
507-933-7510