History of the Institute's Development
Definitions
Proposed Organizational Structure
The Transition to the New Structure
Operational Principles/Guidelines
Possible New Programs and Activities
Rationale and Anticipated Benefits to the College
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Rationale and Anticipated Benefits to the College
We believe that creating the Institute for Global Studies and Citizenship as we have described it will advance the mission, values and interests of the College in a number of ways. These include the following:
1. Student Learning
The mission of the new Institute will be to promote and support student learning that prepares students for lives as effective and ethical “global citizen-leaders”. This will include programs and initiatives that support:
- course-based educational experiences (community-based learning, internships, etc) intended to cultivate intellectual and other capacities necessary for effective/ethical global citizenship and leadership;
- courses that explore issues and themes directly related to “global citizen-leadership”;
- “concentrations” (involving curricular and co-curricular elements) designed specifically to cultivate a practical and theoretical understanding of “global citizen-leadership”;
- academic departments seeking to orient to their curricula, programs, advising, etc more effectively to global citizenship/leadership;
- the College’s general education program as it relates to educating global citizen-leaders (including any future “urban experience/urban engagement” requirement);
- co-curricular programs intended to foster a deeper understanding of global citizenship and leadership;
- opportunities for systematic reflection on learning that occurs in and beyond the classroom.
2. Scholarship
The mission of the new Institute will also be to support theoretical and engaged scholarship related to global citizenship and leadership. This will include:
- “community-based research” (course-based projects; student-faculty collaborations; interdisciplinary action research; other models);
- other forms of “engaged scholarship” or “public scholarship”;
- (inter)disciplinary scholarship that directly addresses the concept of “global citizen-leadership”;
- an annual scholarly roundtable/conference organized around the concepts of public/engaged scholarship and global citizenship/leadership.
3. Service
The mission of the new Institute will be to promote and support service/engagement that enhances student learning and/or scholarship while enriching the community. Specifically, this will include:
- Developing mutually beneficial relationships with a limited number of partner organizations that support our educational and scholarly goals;
- Supporting action research or community-based research that connects scholarship with community needs and concerns;
- Promoting service/engagement in the study abroad experience; and,
- Facilitating the involvement of student organizations in service activities/initiatives.
4. Institutional
Finally, the Institute should also advance a number of institutional goals, including:
- greater integration/co-ordination of a number of currently disparate educational activities and initiatives related to internationalism, multiculturalism, experiential learning, and urban/civic engagement around a clear focus and common theme (educating global citizen-leaders);
- enhanced national reputation as a “world class” institution known for:
- exceptional academic quality,
- programmatic innovation,
- a student experience enhanced by both international experiences and life in a rich urban environment; and
- a distinctive commitment to the education of global citizens and leaders;
- improved program development and delivery;
- responsible “institutional citizenship”;
- ease of access for our local, national and international community partners;
- more efficient use of financial and personnel resources (achieved by reducing needless duplication and overlap);
- the realization of positive synergies between the four elements of the college mission (academic quality, internationalism, multiculturalism and civic engagement);
- the positioning of Macalester as an exciting and innovative “global college”, and
- greater local, national and international visibility for the College (for prospective students, donors/prospective donors, community-based organizations, alumni, etc).
In sum, we believe that creating such an Institute will greatly
enhance the academic quality of a Macalester liberal arts education;
that it will positively accentuate the distinctiveness of the College
as an institution of higher education; and that it will strengthen
Macalester’s reputation as a socially responsible, “world
class” liberal arts college with urban roots and a truly global
reach.
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