Campus Name

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Hamilton College

Clinton, NY (see Serve 2.0 Mini-Grant Map)

 

Campus Contacts

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Judy Owens-Manley / jowens@hamilton.edu / 315-859-4477

Name / Email / Phone

Community Research

198 College Hill Road • Clinton, NY 13323

www.hamilton.edu/levitt or www.hamilton.edu/cache

 

Add Photos Here if you'd like (select Bonner logo and replace, size to 65-100 pixels square)

 

Issue Focus Area(s)

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Immigration/Diversity 

 

Brief Overview

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Hamilton College has elected to work with local refugee and immigrant populations in Clinton, NY. They intend to use Web-based tools to 1) communicate across the campus and with our community partnerships, 2) make visible the work that is being done and the opportunities to connect through volunteer and academic study, and 3) impact the outcome for refugees and immigrants in the community.  Hamilton aims to use wikis, blogs, podcasts which may include audio and video material to accomplish our goals to connect service programs, academic courses, campus-wide efforts, and community. 

•  A Civic Engagement wiki will be an easy-to-access and interactive way for students, faculty, administrators, and community partners to see the academic courses that provide community engagement opportunities for each semester, as well as the outcomes of those community-based endeavors.
• Highlighting blogs that are created around community-based work and connecting them to the Civic Engagement wiki and/or the Levitt Center or Cache website will make them accessible to everyone.  For example, a student completed a Community Garden blog as an Independent Study with this writer, yet virtually no one has seen it to date.  This semester, another Independent Study student will create a blog about Microfinance Projects locally. 
•  We are exploring the idea of creating a Facebook group linking the various students and faculty who have interacted with refugees and immigrants in Utica, either through Project SHINE, Bonner Leaders, or a number of other courses and volunteer opportunities. This would enable even past volunteers to stay connected with the project and to communicate their concerns and their experiences, both here and abroad.
• We are highlighting our work on a website to be built this semester that then has to be added to, maintained, and linked to all of our other initiatives.  This grant will enable us to do the work that is needed to connect all of the dots.

 

Key Community Partners

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• Mohawk Valley Resource Center:  promotes the well-being of culturally diverse individuals and families within our community by welcoming our new neighbors, refugees and immigrants, and by providing individual and community-centered activities designed to create opportunity and facilitate understanding.

 

(see Serve 2.0 Mini-Grant Map)

 

Social Media Tools to Be Used

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Facebook, videos, podcasts, YouTube, wikis, blogs

 

Context and Rationale (Explanation of Tools)

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Hamilton intends to use wikis, blogs, podcasts which may include audio and video material to accomplish our goals to connect service programs, academic courses, campus-wide efforts, and community. 

·          A Civic Engagement wiki will be an easy-to-access and interactive way for students, faculty, administrators, and community partners to see the academic courses that provide community engagement opportunities for each semester, as well as the outcomes of those community-based endeavors.

·          Highlighting blogs that are created around community-based work and connecting them to the Civic Engagement wiki and/or the Levitt Center or Cache website will make them accessible to everyone.  For example, a student completed a Community Garden blog as an Independent Study with this writer, yet virtually no one has seen it to date.  This semester, another Independent Study student will create a blog about Microfinance Projects locally. 

·          We are exploring the idea of creating a Facebook group linking the various students and faculty who have interacted with refugees and immigrants in Utica, either through Project SHINE, Bonner Leaders, or a number of other courses and volunteer opportunities. This would enable even past volunteers to stay connected with the project and to communicate their concerns and their experiences, both here and abroad.

·         We are highlighting our work on a website to be built this semester that then has to be added to, maintained, and linked to all of our other initiatives.  This grant will enable us to do the work that is needed to connect all of the dots. 

 

Link to Campus Organizing Strategies

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This initiative builds on a long-term partnership with the Mohawk Center and with working with refugee populations. In addition to this proposal, two faculty (Government department) have served on the Center's Board of Directors.  Another faculty member and director of the Levitt Center (service center) serve on their Budget Committee.  Service-learning courses happen each semester with the Mohawk Center.  In addition, through the PolicyOptions project (Learn & Serve grant), one class is working on issue briefs, as well as a broader Issue Forum and podcasts around the issues. Hamilton also has been trying to develop ongoing work with two other agencies that serve refugees, as well as cement a bridge by the student center Community Outreach and Opportunity Program for other volunteers to engage in service.

 

Goals of Initiative

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•  The Civic Engagement wiki will be built by April 1, and courses and initiatives for this issue area will be added to the wiki.
• Individual blogs related to civic engagement will be linked to the wiki and to the Levitt Center website by May 1.  The website featuring issue briefs and podcasts regarding refugee and immigrant stories will be built by June 1.
• A facebook group for this issue area will be created by Mar 1, and planning will begin for what other venues to link with the facebook group.

 

Key Activities and Timelines

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February 1 – February 28

·       Meet with the “team” and Carl Rosenfield for consultation on how to design wiki.

·       Design the Civic Engagement wiki

·       Begin to create wiki

·       Edit the PolicyOptions wiki and add background.

·       Complete ESOL blog and explore Facebook group with Jesse.

March 1- March 31

·       Complete foundation for Civic Engagement wiki.

·       Meet with Bonner Leaders and showcase wiki and plan to add their placements and stories.

·       Assess condition of existing websites as portals for information internally and externally, consulting also with J.D. Webb in Communications & Development.

·       Individual blogs and other websites will be linked to the existing websites.

·       Policy briefs for refugee issues will be complete and ready to be added to Policy Options wiki.

 

April 1 – April 30

·       Content material up-to-date on Civic Engagement wiki.

·       Meeting held with COOP and Levitt Council to think through issues of campus-wide engagement.

·       Podcasts are completed.

·       Initial website for policy briefs and podcasts is created.

·       Policy Board formed and meets for first time.

 

May 1 – May 31

·       Finalize website for Refugee Issues and hold public forum for presentation.

·       Highlight semesters’ projects on appropriate media tool.

·       Ensure that all projects, wikis, blogs, etc. are linked on the appropriate website.

·       Bring campus-wide communication issues to forefront and plan to address.

 

June 1 – June 30

·       Wrap up any remaining work to be done and plan for summer.

 

Evaluation

·       Invite our ITS Department and our Communications and Development Department to assess the clarity and ease with which they are able to access information and publication of materials. 

·       Second, we will invite our community partners that work with refugees and immigrants to give feedback about the materials and venues that we create.

·       Third, we will evaluate our progress in this area by increased numbers of students contacting us to hear more and communicating through the tools that we set up.

·    Fourth, the beginnings of a more campus-wide communication network are in place. 

 

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